Shloka 14
नकुलस्य प्रतीची-दिग्विजयः
Nakula’s Conquest of the Western Quarter
ततो निवेद्य तद् राष्ट्र चेदिराजो विशाम्पते । उवाच भीम॑ प्रहसन् किमिदं कुरुषेडनघ,महता बलचक्रेण परराष्ट्रावमर्दिना । हस्त्यश्वरथपूर्णेन दंशितेन प्रतापवान् २ ।।
tato nivedya tad rāṣṭraṃ cedirājo viśāṃ pate | uvāca bhīmaṃ prahasan kim idaṃ kuruṣe ’n agha | mahatā balacakreṇa pararāṣṭrāvamardinā | hastyaśvarathapūrṇena daṃśitena pratāpavān || vṛto bharataśārdūlo dviṣacchokavivardhanaḥ |
ヴァイシャンパーヤナは言った。「それからチェーディ国王は、民の主よ、その国のことを託し終えると、微笑んでビーマに語りかけた。『咎なき者よ、これは何をなさるのだ。象・馬・戦車に満ち、甲冑を整え、他国を踏み砕くほどの大いなる軍勢の輪に囲まれて——バーラタ族の虎、敵の嘆きを増す者よ……』」
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse foregrounds rajadharma: a kṣatriya’s obligation to act decisively for political order (including conquest and subjugation) while also exposing the ethical unease such violence can evoke—here voiced as a smiling but pointed question to Bhīma about the nature of his action.
As the Pandava campaign of conquest is underway, the king of Cedi hands over his realm and then addresses Bhīma, noting Bhīma’s massive, well-equipped army and his reputation for crushing enemy kingdoms, and asks him—‘Blameless one, what are you doing?’