Shloka 12
Kuntī’s Consolation to Draupadī and Lament for the Dispossessed Pandavas (सभा पर्व, अध्याय 70)
भीमसेन उवाच यद्येष गुरुरस्माकं धर्मराजो महामना: । न प्रभु: स्थात् कुलस्यास्य न वयं मर्षयेमहि
bhīmasena uvāca yadyeṣa gurur asmākaṃ dharmarājo mahāmanāḥ | na prabhuḥ sthāt kulasyāsya na vayaṃ marṣayema hi ||
ഭീമസേനൻ പറഞ്ഞു—ഈ മഹാമനസ്സനായ ധർമ്മരാജൻ, നമ്മുടെ പൂജ്യ ജ്യേഷ്ഠനും ഈ പാണ്ഡവകുലത്തിന്റെ അധിപതി-രക്ഷകനുമല്ലായിരുന്നെങ്കിൽ, ഞങ്ങൾ ഈ അവസ്ഥ ഒരിക്കലും സഹിക്കുമായിരുന്നില്ല; ഞങ്ങൾ ഇതു സഹിക്കുകയില്ല.
भीमसेन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical tension between righteous restraint and justified resistance: Bhīma’s anger is checked only because Yudhiṣṭhira, as the legitimate elder and dharma-guided authority of the family, must be obeyed. It underscores how legitimacy and dharma-based leadership can demand forbearance even when humiliation feels intolerable.
In the aftermath of the humiliations and injustices surrounding the Kuru court events, Bhīma voices his fury. He declares that they tolerate the situation only because Dharmarāja (Yudhiṣṭhira) is their guru-like elder and the rightful head of the family; otherwise, they would not endure it and would act against the wrong.