Shloka 22
भीष्मस्य भीमसेन-निरोधः
Bhīṣma checks Bhīmasena; matched engagements intensify
सापद्नवा: सदैवासन् पाण्डवा: पाण्डुपूर्वज । न चैतान् बहु मन्यन्ते पुत्रास्तव विशाम्पते
sa-apadnavāḥ sadaivāsan pāṇḍavāḥ pāṇḍu-pūrvaja | na caitān bahu manyante putrās tava viśāmpate ||
सञ्जय उवाच— पाण्डुपूर्वज, पाण्डवाः सदा एव सापद्नवाः क्षान्ताश्च; तव पुत्रास्तु, विशाम्पते, एतान् न बहु मन्यन्ते।
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse contrasts the Pāṇḍavas’ habitual forbearance and lack of malice with the Kauravas’ failure to honor them. Ethically, it highlights how virtue (kṣamā/forbearance) can be met with ingratitude, and how a ruler’s household should recognize and respect righteousness rather than exploit it.
Sañjaya reports to King Dhṛtarāṣṭra, addressing him as Pāṇḍu’s elder brother, that the Pāṇḍavas have long been patient and non-hostile, yet Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s sons do not properly esteem them—setting a moral frame for the conflict that has led to war.