Shloka 23
प्रावृट्-शरत्-वर्णनम् — Description of the Monsoon and Autumn; Sarasvatī in the Pāṇḍavas’ Exile
अतकिक्रान्तास्तु वेगेन जगामानुसूत: शनै: ततो5मरवरप्रख्यो भीमसेनो महाबल:,तदनन्तर एक दिनकी बात है, भीमसेनके सिंहनादसे भयभीत हो गुफाओंमें रहनेवाले सारे सर्प बड़े वेगसे भागने लगे और भीमसेन धीरे-धीरे उन्हींका पीछा करने लगे। श्रेष्ठ देवताओंके समान कान्तिमान् महाबली भीमसेनने आगे जाकर एक विशालकाय अजगर देखा, जो रोंगटे खड़े कर देनेवाला था। वह अपने शरीरसे एक (विशाल) कन्दराको घेरकर पर्वतके एक दुर्गम स्थानमें रहता था
Vaiśampāyana uvāca: atikrāntās tu vegena jagāma anusūtaḥ śanaiḥ; tato ’maravaraprakhyo bhīmaseno mahābalaḥ.
Vaiśampāyana said: The serpents, driven past their limits by fear, fled swiftly; and Bhīmasena followed after them, moving slowly and steadily. Then that mighty Bhīmasena—radiant like the foremost of the gods—went on ahead and beheld a colossal python, hair-raising to see, dwelling in a hard-to-reach mountain spot, its huge body coiled around a vast cavern.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage highlights steadiness and fearlessness: Bhīma does not rush blindly but advances with controlled resolve, confronting danger directly. It also frames heroic strength as disciplined action rather than mere speed or aggression.
Bhīma’s lion-roar terrifies the cave-dwelling serpents, who flee at great speed. Bhīma follows them and then comes upon a gigantic python occupying a cavern in a remote, difficult mountain location.