Shloka 20
अध्याय ८० — मध्यंदिन-रणवृत्तान्तः
Yudhiṣṭhira–Śrutāyu encounter; Cekitāna–Gautama clash; Abhimanyu pressure; Arjuna’s redeployment
अपृच्छद् वाष्पसंरुद्धों नि:श्वसन् वाचमीरयन् । मम प्राणै: प्रियतम: क्व भीम इति दु:खित:
apṛcchad vāṣpa-saṁruddho niḥśvasan vācam īrayan | mama prāṇaiḥ priyatamaḥ kva bhīma iti duḥkhitaḥ ||
Wika ni Sañjaya: Nabubulunan ng luha ang kanyang lalamunan, hinihingal at pilit na binubuo ang salita, siya’y nagtanong sa paghihirap: “Nasaan si Bhīma—na higit kong mahal kaysa sariling buhay?” Pagkasabi nito, siya’y nilamon ng dalamhati.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the human cost of war: even amid duty and battlefield resolve, intense attachment and grief arise. It implicitly contrasts heroic ideals with the vulnerability of loved ones, reminding readers that dharma in war is shadowed by sorrow and emotional consequence.
In the midst of the Kurukṣetra account, a grief-stricken speaker—his voice choked with tears—asks anxiously where Bhīma is, declaring him dearer than life. Sañjaya reports this emotional moment as part of the unfolding battlefield narration.