Shloka 15
Adhyāya 123 — Droṇa’s Pedagogy: Arjuna’s Preeminence, Ekalavya’s Self-Training, and the Bhāsa-Lakṣya Trial
सर्वेषां बलिनां श्रेष्ठो जातो5यमिति भारत । इदमत्यद्भुतं चासीज्जातमात्रे वृकोदरे
sarveṣāṃ balināṃ śreṣṭho jāto ’yam iti bhārata | idam atyadbhutaṃ cāsīj jātamātre vṛkodare ||
ஓ பாரதா! உடலற்ற வானொலி கூறியது— “இந்தக் குழந்தை வலிமையாளர்களில் முதன்மையாகப் பிறந்துள்ளது.” மேலும் வ்ருகோதரன் பிறந்த அதே கணத்தில் மிக அதிசயமான ஒன்று நிகழ்ந்தது.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames extraordinary strength as a divinely signaled destiny: Bhīma’s might is not merely physical but a foretold quality, suggesting that great capacities carry a larger role within the moral and narrative order (dharma) of the epic.
The narrator reports a heavenly proclamation at Bhīma’s birth, declaring him the foremost among the strong, and introduces that an astonishing event occurred immediately upon his being born.