Shloka 20
अध्याय ८० — मध्यंदिन-रणवृत्तान्तः
Yudhiṣṭhira–Śrutāyu encounter; Cekitāna–Gautama clash; Abhimanyu pressure; Arjuna’s redeployment
अपृच्छद् वाष्पसंरुद्धों नि:श्वसन् वाचमीरयन् । मम प्राणै: प्रियतम: क्व भीम इति दु:खित:
apṛcchad vāṣpa-saṁruddho niḥśvasan vācam īrayan | mama prāṇaiḥ priyatamaḥ kva bhīma iti duḥkhitaḥ ||
サンジャヤは言った。「涙に喉を塞がれ、荒く息をつき、言葉を絞り出しながら、彼は苦悶して問うた。『ビーマはどこだ――我が命にも勝って愛しい者は。』そう言うや、悲しみに呑まれた。」
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the human cost of war: even amid duty and battlefield resolve, intense attachment and grief arise. It implicitly contrasts heroic ideals with the vulnerability of loved ones, reminding readers that dharma in war is shadowed by sorrow and emotional consequence.
In the midst of the Kurukṣetra account, a grief-stricken speaker—his voice choked with tears—asks anxiously where Bhīma is, declaring him dearer than life. Sañjaya reports this emotional moment as part of the unfolding battlefield narration.