Shloka 20
भीमसेनस्य आत्मबलप्रशंसा — Bhīmasena’s Assertion of Strength
Udyoga Parva, Adhyāya 74
तवैषा विकृता बुद्धिर्गवां वागिव मानुषी । मनांसि पाण्डुपुत्राणां मज्जयत्यप्लवानिव
tavaiṣā vikṛtā buddhir gavāṁ vāg iva mānuṣī | manāṁsi pāṇḍuputrāṇāṁ majjayaty aplavān iva |
Sinabi ni Vaiśampāyana: “Ang baluktot mong payo ay parang mga bakang nagsasalita ng wika ng tao—isang bagay na di-likas at saliwa. Gayon din, ibinabaon nito sa pangamba ang mga puso ng mga anak ni Pāṇḍu, gaya ng mga taong walang bangkang lumulubog sa malalim na dagat.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Distorted judgment and unethical counsel do not merely misstate facts; they destabilize others’ minds and push them toward fear and confusion. The verse warns that unnatural, warped reasoning—like cattle speaking human language—signals a breakdown of proper discernment (buddhi) and harms those who must act under its influence.
In the Udyoga Parva’s tense pre-war negotiations, Vaiśampāyana characterizes someone’s counsel as ‘vikṛtā buddhi’—a perversion of sound judgment. He says it overwhelms the Pāṇḍavas’ hearts with worry, using the image of boatless people sinking in a vast sea to convey helplessness and mounting anxiety.