Shloka 51
Kubera’s Arrival and the Disclosure of Agastya’s Curse
Vaiśaṃpāyana–Janamejaya Narrative
(ब्रुवन् वै तिष्ठ तिछेति क्रोधसंरक्तलोचन: ।) बाहुसंरम्भमेवैक्षन्नभिदुद्राव राक्षसम् । राक्षसो5पि तदा भीम॑ युद्धार्थिननवस्थितम्,राक्षसके ऐसा कहनेपर भीमसेन अपने मुखके दोनों कोने चाटते हुए कुछ मुसकराते-से प्रतीत हुए फिर क्रोधसे साक्षात् काल और यमराजके समान जान पड़ने लगे। रोषसे उनकी आँखें लाल हो गयी थीं “खड़ा रह,” खड़ा रह कहते हुए ताल ठोंककर राक्षसकी ओर दृष्टि गड़ाये उसपर टूट पड़े। राक्षस भी उस समय भीमसेनको युद्धके लिये उपस्थित देख बार- बार मुँह फैलाकर मुँहके दोनों कोने चाटने लगा और जैसे बलिराजा वज्रधारी इन्द्रपर आक्रमण करता है, उसी प्रकार कुपित हो उसने भीमसेनपर धावा किया
vaiśampāyana uvāca | (bruvan vai tiṣṭha tiṣṭheti krodha-saṁrakta-locanaḥ |) bāhu-saṁrambham evaikṣann abhidudrāva rākṣasam | rākṣaso 'pi tadā bhīmaṁ yuddhārthinam avasthitam |
Vaiśampāyana said: With eyes reddened by anger, Bhīma kept shouting, “Stand! Stand!” Fixing his gaze and bracing his arms in fierce resolve, he rushed straight at the rākṣasa. The rākṣasa too, seeing Bhīma poised for battle, readied himself to meet the attack—both sides driven by wrath into a direct trial of strength, where courage and restraint are tested amid the heat of combat.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage highlights how anger can propel decisive action in battle, yet it implicitly raises an ethical tension: true strength is not only physical force but also the capacity to direct one’s power with awareness rather than being wholly mastered by wrath.
Bhīma, eyes inflamed with anger, challenges the rākṣasa to stand and then charges at him. The rākṣasa, seeing Bhīma ready for combat, also prepares to engage, setting the stage for a direct clash.