Shloka 33
Virāṭa-parva Adhyāya 33 — Kuru Cattle-Raid and Matsya Mobilization (भूमिंजय-प्रेरणा)
सहस्रमवधीत् तत्र कुन्तीपुत्रो युधिष्ठिर: । भीम: सप्त सहस्नाणि यमलोकमदर्शयत्,कुन्तीपुत्र युधिष्ठिरे एक हजार त्रिगर्तोंकी मार गिराया। भीमसेनने सात हजार योद्धाओंको यमलोकका दर्शन कराया इति श्रीमहाभारते विराटपर्वणि गोहरणपर्वणि दक्षिणगोग्रहे त्रयस्त्रिंशो 5 ध्याय: ।।
sahasram avadhīt tatra kuntīputro yudhiṣṭhiraḥ | bhīmaḥ sapta sahasrāṇi yamalokam adarśayat ||
Vaiśampāyana nói: Tại đó, Yudhiṣṭhira—con trai của Kuntī—đã giết một nghìn quân Trigarta. Còn Bhīma khiến bảy nghìn chiến binh phải “trông thấy cõi của Yama”—tức bị đưa đến cái chết.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the tension between compassion and duty: even a righteous king like Yudhiṣṭhira may employ lethal force when resisting wrongdoing (such as a raid) and protecting dependents and property. It frames violence not as celebration but as a consequence of adharma-driven aggression and the kṣatriya obligation to stop it.
During the cattle-seizure conflict involving the Trigartas, Yudhiṣṭhira kills a thousand opponents, while Bhīma kills seven thousand—described as making them ‘see Yama’s realm,’ a poetic way of saying he sent them to death.