Shloka 11
शतान्यष्टौ वारणानामपश्य॑ विशातितै: कुम्भकराग्रहस्तै: । भीमेनाजौ निहतान्यद्य बाणै: स मां क्रूरं वक्तुमर्हत्यरिघ्न:
arjuna uvāca | śatāny aṣṭau vāraṇānām apaśya viśātitaiḥ kumbhakarāgrahastaiḥ | bhīmenājau nihatāny adya bāṇaiḥ sa māṁ krūraṁ vaktum arhaty arighnaḥ ||
Disse Arjuna: “Vi hoje, no campo de batalha, oitocentos elefantes abatidos por Bhīma com suas flechas—depois de lhes cortar as têmporas, as trombas e as pontas das trombas. Esse mesmo Bhīma, destruidor de inimigos, é o único que tem o direito de me falar com dureza.”
अजुन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Martial excellence carries moral weight: one who has demonstrably borne the burden of battle may admonish others. Arjuna frames harsh speech as legitimate only when grounded in proven valor and service, linking authority in counsel to earned merit rather than mere status.
In the thick of the Karna Parva fighting, Arjuna acknowledges Bhima’s extraordinary feat—slaying eight hundred enemy elephants with arrows by striking vital parts (temples and trunk). On that basis, Arjuna concedes that Bhima, as a true foe-slayer, has the standing to rebuke him sternly.