Shloka 58
Droṇa’s Ācārya-Dakṣiṇā: Capture of Drupada and Division of Pāñcāla (द्रोण-आचार्यदक्षिणा)
दंष्टाश्न देष्टिणां तेषां मर्मस्वपि निपातिता: । त्वचं नैवास्य बिभिदु: सारत्वात् पृथुवक्षस:
daṃṣṭāśna-deṣṭināṃ teṣāṃ marmasv api nipātitāḥ | tvacaṃ naivāsya bibhiduḥ sāratvāt pṛthuvakṣasaḥ ||
ヴァイシャンパーヤナは語った。「その蛇どもが彼の急所にまで牙を沈めたにもかかわらず、皮膚を貫くことはできなかった。胸広く、体質堅固なるビー マセーナの肌は、鉄のごとく硬かったからである。この出来事は、生まれつきの力と忍耐が悪意を挫き、正しき者に向けられた害が、自然の活力と功徳の護りによって成就し得ぬことを示している。」
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Hostile intent does not always succeed: when a person possesses strong innate resilience (and, by implication, protective merit), even targeted harm may fail. The passage highlights steadfastness and the limits of malice.
Serpents bite Bhīmasena, even aiming at his vital points, but their fangs cannot penetrate his skin because he is broad-chested and exceptionally tough—his body is described as iron-hard.