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 |
वैशम्पायन उवाच । पाञ्चालानां महत् सैन्यं भीमसेनपुरःसरम् । उत्तालतरङ्गविक्षुब्धमहासागरवद् अरावयत् ॥ महाबाहुर्भीमसेनो दण्डपाणिरिवान्तकः । तां महासेनां प्रविवेश मकरः सागरं यथा ॥ गदाधरो भीमसेनः स्वयमेव महाबलः । नागानीकं समासाद्य बभञ्ज बलदर्पितम् ॥
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.