Shloka 14
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 ||
Vaiśampāyana berkata: Daripada Vāyu lahirlah Bhīma, yang berlengan perkasa dan berani menakutkan. Tatkala anak yang teramat kuat itu lahir, terdengarlah suara tanpa jasad mengisytiharkan tentangnya: “Putera ini adalah yang terunggul antara semua yang gagah.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
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.