Shloka 34

Udyoga Parva, Adhyaya 104: Nārada on Suhṛt and Nirbandha; the Viśvāmitra–Gālava Exemplum Begins

Devanagari script

भीम: प्रहरतां श्रेष्ठो वायुपुत्रो महाबल: । धनंजयश्रेन्द्रसुतो न हन्यातां तु क॑ रणे,योद्धाओंमें श्रेष्ठ महाबली भीम वायुके पुत्र हैं। अर्जुन भी इन्द्रके पुत्र हैं। ये दोनों मिलकर युद्धमें किसे नहीं मार डालेंगे?

Transliteration

bhīmaḥ praharatāṃ śreṣṭho vāyuputro mahābalaḥ | dhanañjayaś cendrasuto na hanyātāṃ tu kaḥ raṇe ||

Translation

ప్రహారకులలో శ్రేష్ఠుడైన మహాబలుడు భీముడు వాయుపుత్రుడు; ధనంజయుడైన అర్జునుడు ఇంద్రపుత్రుడు. ఈ ఇద్దరూ కలసి యుద్ధంలో ఎవరిని సంహరించలేరు?

Word by Word

भीमःBhima

प्रहरताम्of those who strike/attack (fighters)

श्रेष्ठःthe best

वायुपुत्रःson of Vayu

महाबलःmighty/very strong

धनंजयःDhananjaya (Arjuna)

इन्द्रसुतःson of Indra

नnot

हन्याताम्would/should kill (the two of them would kill)

तुindeed/but

कःwho (whom)

रणेin battle

Speaker

कण्व उवाच

Characters & Entities

Kaṇva

Bhīma

Vāyu

Dhanañjaya (Arjuna)

Indra

raṇa (battle)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights how extraordinary power, especially when joined together, can make violence nearly unstoppable; implicitly it warns that allowing a dispute to become war invites catastrophic, ethically troubling destruction.

What is happening in the narrative?

Kaṇva points to the formidable divine lineage and battlefield supremacy of Bhīma and Arjuna, rhetorically asking who could survive them in combat—emphasizing the looming danger if hostilities proceed.