Shloka 21
नैषां शस्त्रप्रहारो5स्ति पद नेहास्ति कस्यचित् । भूतं महदिदं मन्ये भ्रातरो येन मे हता:
Vaiśaṃpāyana uvāca | naiṣāṃ śastraprahāro 'sti padaṃ nehāsti kasyacit | bhūtaṃ mahad idaṃ manye bhrātaro yena me hatāḥ | dharmaputro mahābāhur vilalāpa suvistaram |
“ان کے جسموں پر ہتھیار کے وار کا کوئی نشان نہیں، اور یہاں کسی کے قدموں کے نشان بھی نہیں۔ میں سمجھتا ہوں کہ کوئی عظیم بھوت-سَتّا ہی ہے جس نے میرے بھائیوں کو مار ڈالا ہے۔” یہ کہہ کر مہاباہو دھرم پُتر یُدھِشٹھِر دیر تک نوحہ کرتا رہا۔
वैशग्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even in intense grief, Dharmaputra models a dharmic habit: he observes carefully, avoids rash accusation, and infers causes from evidence (no weapon-wounds, no footprints). The verse highlights ethical restraint and reasoned judgment under emotional pressure.
Yudhiṣṭhira sees his brothers fallen and, noticing no signs of combat or human presence, concludes that a powerful supernatural being (bhūta) must have struck them down. He then laments at length, torn between sorrow and the need to understand what has happened.