Shloka 17
यथा तुदसि मर्माणि वाक्शरैरिह नो भृशम् | तथा स्मारयिता ते<हं कृन्तन् मर्माणि संयुगे
yathā tudasī marmāṇi vākśarair iha no bhṛśam | tathā smārayitā te 'haṃ kṛntan marmāṇi saṃyuge ||
Bhīma berkata: “Sebagaimana di sini engkau menikam titik-titik paling peka dalam diri kami dengan anak panah kata-katamu hingga menimbulkan sakit yang amat, demikian juga di medan perang—ketika aku mula mengoyak bahagian-bahagian pentingmu—aku akan mengingatkanmu akan kata-kata ini.”
भीमसेन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how verbal cruelty can wound as sharply as weapons, and how such harm can fuel cycles of vengeance; it implicitly warns that humiliation in public assemblies can become the seed of later violence.
In the royal assembly context, Bhima addresses the opponent who has been tormenting the Pandavas with cutting speech, declaring that he will repay those ‘word-arrows’ in the future battlefield by physically striking the opponent’s vital points and reminding him of his present insults.