Shloka 29

Devanagari script

मा भैष्ट राक्षसान्मूढाद्‌ गतिरस्य मया हृता । नातिदूरे महाबाहुर्भविता पवनात्मज:,“तुमलोग इस मूढ़ राक्षससे डरना मत। मैंने इसकी गति कुण्ठित कर दी है। वायुपुत्र महाबाहु भीमसेन यहाँसे अधिक दूर नहीं होंगे

Transliteration

mā bhaiṣṭa rākṣasān mūḍhād gatir asya mayā hṛtā | nātidūre mahābāhur bhavitā pavanātmajaḥ ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana said: “Do not be afraid of this foolish rākṣasa. I have taken away his power to move and act freely. The mighty-armed son of the Wind—Bhīmasena—will not be far from here.”

Word by Word

माdo not

भैष्टfear (you all)

राक्षसान्the rākṣasas/demons

मूढात्from the foolish (one)

गतिःmovement/speed

अस्यof this (one)/his

मयाby me

हृताtaken away/removed/checked

नnot

अतिदूरेat a very far (place)

महाबाहुःthe mighty-armed (one)

भविताwill be/will become

पवनात्मजःson of the Wind (Vāyu)

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

rākṣasa

Pavanātmaja (Bhīmasena)

Vāyu (Wind-god, implied by epithet)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Fear should be met with steadiness and discernment: when a threat is neutralized and righteous support is near, panic is unnecessary. The verse models protective leadership—reassuring others, reducing danger, and invoking confidence in a capable ally.

What is happening in the narrative?

The narrator reports a reassurance to companions who are frightened by a rākṣasa. The speaker declares that the rākṣasa’s ability to move/act has been restrained, and that Bhīma—identified by the epithet ‘son of the Wind’—is close and will soon be present.