Shloka 24

Devanagari script

भो भो राजलन्नवेक्षस्व पतितोऊहं प्रियस्तव । कि निमित्तं च पतन ब्रूहि मे यदि वेत्थ ह,“राजन! जरा मेरी ओर तो देखिये, मैं आपका प्रिय भीमसेन यहाँ गिर पड़ा हूँ। यदि जानते हों तो बताइये, मेरे इस पतनका क्या कारण है?”

Transliteration

bho bho rājan na avekṣasva patito ’haṁ priyas tava | kiṁ nimittaṁ ca patanaṁ brūhi me yadi vettha ha ||

Translation

ویشَمپاین نے کہا— “اے راجَن، اِدھر تو دیکھیے! میں—آپ کا عزیز بھیم سین—یہاں گر پڑا ہوں۔ اگر آپ جانتے ہوں تو بتائیے: میرے اس گرنے کی وجہ کیا ہے؟”

Word by Word

भोO! (vocative particle)

भोO! (repetition for emphasis)

राजन्O king

अवेक्षस्वlook (towards), behold

पतितःfallen

अहम्I

प्रियःdear

तवof you, your

किम्what?

निमित्तम्cause, reason

चand

पतनम्falling, fall

ब्रूहिtell, speak

मेto me / for me

यदिif

वेत्थyou know

हindeed, surely (emphatic particle)

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Yudhiṣṭhira

Bhīmasena

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Even the mightiest are subject to moral causality: in the Great Departure, each fall signals a specific ethical flaw or attachment. The verse frames the fall not as mere physical exhaustion but as an event with a discernible moral cause (nimitta), inviting reflection on dharma and self-scrutiny.

What is happening in the narrative?

During the Pandavas’ final journey, Bhīmasena collapses. The speaker calls out to King Yudhiṣṭhira to look and to explain—if he knows—why Bhīma has fallen, setting up Yudhiṣṭhira’s later identification of the inner fault that led to this moment.