Shloka 21
Yudhiṣṭhira’s Reproof and Vow-Logic: On Dice-Deception, Exile Terms, and the Governance of Anger
Adhyāya 35
अश्रौषीस्त्वं राजधर्मान् यथा वै मनुरब्रवीत् । क्ररान् निकृतिसम्पन्नान् विहितानशमात्मकान्,बुद्धया वीर्येण संयुक्त: श्रुेतेनाभिजनेन च । महाराज! आपने राजधर्मका वर्णन तो सुना ही होगा, जैसा मनुजीने कहा है। फिर क्रूर, मायावी, हमारे हितके विपरीत आचरण करनेवाले तथा अशान्तचित्तवाले दुरात्मा धृतराष्ट्रपुत्रोंका अपराध आप क्यों क्षमा करते हैं? पुरुषसिंह! आप बुद्धि, पराक्रम, शास्त्रज्ञान तथा उत्तम कुलसे सम्पन्न होकर भी जहाँ कुछ काम करना है, वहाँ अजगरकी भाँति चुपचाप क्यों बैठे हैं?
aśrauṣīs tvaṃ rājadharmān yathā vai manur abravīt | krūrān nikṛtisampannān vihitān aśamātmakān | buddhyā vīryeṇa saṃyuktaḥ śrutena abhijanena ca |
Bhīma said: “You have surely heard of the duties of kings, just as Manu declared them. Why, then, do you forgive the offenses of Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s sons—men who are cruel, steeped in deceit, acting against our welfare, and restless in mind? O great king, though endowed with intelligence, valor, learning, and noble birth, why do you sit silent like a python when decisive action is required?”
भीमसेन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Royal dharma requires timely, principled action against wrongdoing; excessive forbearance toward cruel and deceitful aggressors becomes a failure of justice and protection.
Bhīma rebukes the king (contextually Yudhiṣṭhira) for tolerating the Kauravas’ offenses, invoking Manu’s authority on kingship and criticizing the king’s silence and inaction despite his qualifications.