Adhyāya 123 — Droṇa’s Pedagogy: Arjuna’s Preeminence, Ekalavya’s Self-Training, and the Bhāsa-Lakṣya Trial
तस्माज्जज्ञे महाबाहुर्भीमो भीमपराक्रम: । तमप्यतिबलं जात॑ वागुवाचाशरीरिणी
tasmāj jajñe mahābāhur bhīmo bhīmaparākramaḥ | tam apy atibalaṃ jātaṃ vāg uvācāśarīriṇī ||
ಅವನಿಂದ (ವಾಯುದೇವನಿಂದ) ಮಹಾಬಾಹುವಾದ, ಭೀಕರ ಪರಾಕ್ರಮಿಯ ಭೀಮನು ಜನಿಸಿದನು. ಆ ಅತಿಬಲವಂತ ಶಿಶು ಜನಿಸಿದ ಕ್ಷಣದಲ್ಲೇ ಅಶರೀರವಾಣಿ ಹೇಳಿತು— “ಈ ಕುಮಾರನು ಎಲ್ಲ ಬಲವಂತರಲ್ಲಿಯೂ ಶ್ರೇಷ್ಠನು.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Extraordinary power is presented as meaningful when it is rooted in a higher source and publicly oriented toward protection and dharma; Bhīma’s strength is introduced not as brute force but as a providential capacity meant for righteous ends.
Vaiśampāyana narrates Bhīma’s birth as the son of Vāyu and notes a heavenly, bodiless voice that immediately proclaims the newborn as supremely strong, marking him with an auspicious sign and foreshadowing his future role among the Pāṇḍavas.