Shloka 25
Virāṭa-parva Adhyāya 21 — Kīcaka’s clandestine approach and Bhīma’s covert intervention (नर्तनागारे कीचकवध-प्रसङ्गः)
शतं शतसहस्राणि गन्धर्वाणामहं रणे । समागतं हनिष्यामि त्वं भीरु कुरु मे क्षणम्,'भीरु! यदि युद्धमें मेरे सामने एक करोड़ गन्धर्व भी आ जाया, तो मैं उन्हें मार डालूगा; परंतु तुम मुझे स्वीकार कर लो"
śataṁ śata-sahasrāṇi gandharvāṇām ahaṁ raṇe | samāgataṁ haniṣyāmi tvaṁ bhīru kuru me kṣaṇam ||
แม้เหล่าคันธรรพ์จะชุมนุมกันนับแสนในสนามรบเข้าต้านข้า ข้าก็จักสังหารให้สิ้น; แต่เจ้า ผู้หวาดหวั่นเอ๋ย จงให้ข้าสักครู่หนึ่ง—จงรับข้าเถิด
भीमसेन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse foregrounds the kṣatriya ideal of fearlessness and readiness to face overwhelming odds, while also showing how such power can be invoked rhetorically to persuade another person—raising ethical questions about pressure, consent, and the proper use of strength.
Bhīma speaks in a heightened, boastful register: he claims he could defeat even vast numbers of Gandharvas in battle, and then turns to an immediate personal request—addressing someone as ‘bhīru’ and urging them to grant him a moment and accept him.