Shloka 22
भीष्मस्य भीमसेन-निरोधः
Bhīṣma checks Bhīmasena; matched engagements intensify
सापद्नवा: सदैवासन् पाण्डवा: पाण्डुपूर्वज । न चैतान् बहु मन्यन्ते पुत्रास्तव विशाम्पते
sa-apadnavāḥ sadaivāsan pāṇḍavāḥ pāṇḍu-pūrvaja | na caitān bahu manyante putrās tava viśāmpate ||
Sañjaya nói: “Tâu Đại vương, anh cả của Pāṇḍu, các Pāṇḍava xưa nay vẫn nhẫn nhịn, không ôm lòng oán hận. Thế nhưng các con của bệ hạ, tâu chúa tể muôn dân, lại chẳng coi trọng họ như lẽ phải.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse contrasts the Pāṇḍavas’ habitual forbearance and lack of malice with the Kauravas’ failure to honor them. Ethically, it highlights how virtue (kṣamā/forbearance) can be met with ingratitude, and how a ruler’s household should recognize and respect righteousness rather than exploit it.
Sañjaya reports to King Dhṛtarāṣṭra, addressing him as Pāṇḍu’s elder brother, that the Pāṇḍavas have long been patient and non-hostile, yet Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s sons do not properly esteem them—setting a moral frame for the conflict that has led to war.