Shloka 29
भीमस्य जलान्वेषणं तथा वनविश्रान्तिः
Bhīma’s Search for Water and the Forest Halt
जीप नो सहज अत णिरिवानक ततः :स्वनाम् | भीमसेनो :
bhīmasenaḥ pāñcālānāṃ senāṃ uttāla-taraṅga-vat vikṣubdha-mahāsāgara iva garjanāṃ kurvāṇaḥ | mahābāhur bhīmaseno daṇḍapāṇir yamarāja iva tāṃ viśālāṃ senāṃ praviśat, yathā samudre makaraḥ praviśet | gadādharo bhīmaḥ svayam hastināṃ senāyāṃ prapatat |
Vaiśaṃpāyana berkata: Bala tentera Pāñcāla, dengan Bhīmasena di hadapan, mengaum seperti samudera luas yang dikocak hingga bergelora dengan ombak menjulang. Bhīma yang berlengan perkasa, memegang senjata laksana tongkat, menerjah masuk ke dalam angkatan besar itu seperti Yama—penguasa keadilan dan maut—yang datang menunaikan akibat yang tak terelakkan; bagaikan makara memasuki lautan. Dengan gada di tangan, Bhīma sendiri menyerbu kor gajah, merempuhnya dengan daya yang tiada tertahan.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse uses Yama and ocean imagery to suggest that in war, overwhelming force can be portrayed as the inevitable arrival of consequence—justice and retribution unfolding with a power that seems unavoidable. It highlights the epic’s tendency to frame violence not merely as personal anger but as part of a larger moral-cosmic order.
Vaiśaṃpāyana describes the Pāñcāla army roaring like a stormy ocean. Bhīma, wielding his mace, charges into the opposing host and specifically crashes into the elephant contingent, likened to a makara entering the sea—an image of fearless penetration and destructive momentum.