Shloka 74

Bhīmasena–Hanūmān Saṃvāda: The Tail Test and the Divine Path

Devanagari script

स भीमसेनस्तच्छुत्वा सम्प्रहृष्टतनूरुह: । शब्दप्रभवमन्विच्छंक्षचार कदलीवनम्‌,उसे सुनकर भीमसेनके रोंगटे खड़े हो गये और उसके कारणको हढूँढ़नेके लिये वे उस केलेके बगीचेमें घूमने लगे

Transliteration

sa bhīmasenas tac chrutvā samprahṛṣṭa-tanūruhaḥ | śabda-prabhavam anvicchan kṣacāra kadalīvanam ||

Translation

Hearing that sound, Bhīmasena’s hairs stood on end in sudden excitement. Seeking to discover the source from which the noise had arisen, he began to roam about within the plantain grove, intent on tracing its cause.

Word by Word

सःhe

भीमसेनःBhimasena

तत्that (sound/thing)

श्रुत्वाhaving heard

सम्प्रहृष्टतनूरुहःone whose body-hairs stood up (thrilled)

शब्दप्रभवम्the source/cause of the sound

अन्विच्छन्seeking, searching for

क्षचारwandered/roamed

कदलीवनम्the banana-grove

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhīmasena

kadalīvana (plantain/banana grove)

śabda (sound/noise)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights alertness and purposeful inquiry: when confronted with an unusual event, Bhīma does not react blindly but seeks the cause, showing courage guided by investigation rather than mere impulse.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana narrates that Bhīmasena, startled and thrilled by a sound, enters and wanders through a plantain grove to locate the origin of that noise.