Shloka 16
Jaṭāsura-praveśa, Draupadī-apaharaṇa, and Jaṭāsura-vadha (जटासुरप्रवेशः द्रौपद्यपहरणं च जटासुरवधः)
तब वे सब राक्षस परम तेजस्वी महाबाहु भीमसेनके पास आकर पूछने लगे--“तुम कौन हो?” यह बताओ ।। मुनिवेषधरश्वैव सायुधश्वैव लक्ष्यसे । यदर्थमभिसम्प्राप्तस्तदाचक्ष्व महामते,“महामते! तुमने वेष तो मुनियोंका-सा धारण कर रखा है; परंतु आयुधोंसे सम्पन्न दिखायी देते हो। तुम किसलिये यहाँ आये हो?” बताओ
tataḥ te sarve rākṣasāḥ parama-tejasvinaḥ mahā-bāhu bhīmasenasya pāśvam āgatya papracchuḥ— “tvaṁ kaḥ?” iti. muni-veṣa-dharaś caiva sāyudhaś caiva lakṣyase; yad-artham abhisamprāptas tad ācakṣva mahā-mate.
Then all those mighty, radiant rākṣasas came up to the great-armed Bhīmasena and questioned him: “Who are you? Tell us.” “You appear to be wearing a sage’s guise, yet you are clearly armed. For what purpose have you come here? Declare it, O wise one.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical demand for clarity of intent: when one’s outward appearance (a sage’s guise) conflicts with signs of force (weapons), others naturally seek an account of purpose. It underscores accountability and the social expectation that power be justified by right intention.
In the forest setting of the Vana Parva, a group of powerful rākṣasas approach Bhīma and challenge him with questions about his identity and motive, noting that he looks like an ascetic yet is armed, and demanding that he explain why he has come.