Shloka 56
Indrajit’s Binding, Restoration by Viśalyā, and Counsel Restraining Rāvaṇa (Āraṇyaka Parva 273)
पुनरेव महाबाहुरपूर्वा तनुमाश्रित: । नरस्य कृत्वार्धतनुं सिंहस्यार्धतनु प्रभु:
punar eva mahābāhur apūrvāṁ tanum āśritaḥ | narasya kṛtvārdha-tanuṁ siṁhasyārdha-tanuṁ prabhuḥ ||
Again, that mighty-armed, sovereign being assumed a wondrous, unprecedented form—fashioning himself as half man and half lion. The line evokes a deliberate manifestation of overwhelming power, suggesting a divinely sanctioned response to a crisis where ordinary human strength and conventional means are insufficient.
भीमसेन उवाच
Educational Q&A
When disorder becomes extreme, the narrative imagines a power beyond ordinary limits taking an extraordinary form to restore balance—implying that protection of dharma may require decisive, exceptional intervention rather than routine measures.
Bhīma describes a powerful being who once again assumes a never-before-seen body, specifically a composite form—half human and half lion—signaling a dramatic escalation in strength and intent within the story’s unfolding events.