Shloka 19

Devanagari script

सावज्ञमथ वामेन स्मयग्जग्राह पाणिना । न चाशकच्चालयितुं भीम: पुच्छे महाकपे:,ऐसा सोचकर उन्होंने बड़ी लापरवाही दिखाते और मुसकराते हुए अपने बायें हाथसे उस महाकपिकी पूँछ पकड़ी, किंतु वे उसे हिला-डुला भी न सके

Transliteration

sāvajñam atha vāmena smayag jagrāha pāṇinā | na cāśakac cālayituṃ bhīmaḥ pucchhe mahākapeḥ ||

Translation

ครั้นคิดดังนั้น ภีมะก็จับหางของมหาวานรด้วยมือซ้ายอย่างดูแคลน พลางยิ้มอยู่ แต่กลับไม่อาจขยับมันได้แม้แต่น้อย

Word by Word

सावज्ञम्contemptuously, with disdain

अथthen

वामेनwith the left (hand)

स्मयत्smiling

जग्राहseized, grasped

पाणिनाwith (his) hand

नnot

चand

अशकत्was able

चालयितुम्to move, to shake

भीमःBhima

पुच्छेin/on the tail

महाकपेःof the great monkey

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Bhīma

mahākapi (the great ape)

puccha (tail)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Physical power without humility becomes arrogance; when confronted with a superior force (often divine or dharmic), pride is corrected. The scene teaches reverence, self-knowledge, and the ethical restraint that should accompany strength.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhīma, dismissively smiling, grabs the tail of a great ape with his left hand, intending to move it, but he cannot budge it at all—signaling that the ape’s power (and the lesson behind it) surpasses Bhīma’s confidence.