Shloka 17
भीमसेनस्य आत्मबलप्रशंसा — Bhīmasena’s Assertion of Strength
Udyoga Parva, Adhyāya 74
अहो नाशंससे किज्वचित् पुंस्त्वं क्लीब इवात्मनि । कश्मलेनाभिपन्नो$सि तेन ते विकृतं मन:
aho nāśaṃsase kiṃcid api puṃs tvaṃ klība ivātmani | kaśmalenābhipanno 'si tena te vikṛtaṃ manaḥ ||
Sinabi ni Vaiśaṃpāyana: “Ay, aba! Wala kang kinikilalang anumang pagkalalaki o tapang sa iyong sarili; sa harap ng iyong sariling pagkatao, para kang isang walang-lakas. Nadaig ka ng pagkalito sa dharma, kaya nalihis at nabaluktot ang iyong isip.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse censures inner collapse: when one is seized by kaśmala (ethical confusion and dejection), the mind becomes distorted and one loses the capacity to affirm one’s own courage and duty. It urges clarity, self-respect, and steadiness as prerequisites for dharmic action.
Vaiśaṃpāyana narrates a rebuke directed at a person who has fallen into despondency and self-doubt. The speaker highlights that the person no longer recognizes any manly resolve within himself and attributes this to being overwhelmed by kaśmala, which has unsettled the mind.