Shloka 28

Devanagari script

सा बाष्पकलया वाचा नि: श्वसन्ती पुनः पुन: । हृदयं भीमसेनस्य घट्टयन्तीदमब्रवीत्‌,वह बार-बार लंबी साँसें लेती हुई आँसुओंसे गद्गद वाणीमें भीमसेनके हृदयको कम्पित करती हुई इस प्रकार बोली--

Transliteration

sā bāṣpakalayā vācā niḥśvasantī punaḥ punaḥ | hṛdayaṃ bhīmasenasya ghaṭṭayantīdam abravīt ||

Translation

毗湿摩波耶那说道：她泪噎其声，反复长叹，遂说出这些话——直欲震动毗摩塞那的心。

Word by Word

साshe

बाष्पकलयाwith a tearful (broken) tone / with a tear-drop (as it were)

वाचाwith speech/voice

निःश्वसन्तीsighing/breathing out

पुनःagain

हृदयंheart

भीमसेनस्यof Bhimasena

घट्टयन्तीshaking/agitating (causing to tremble)

इदम्this

अब्रवीत्said/spoke

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

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?

The verse highlights how truthful grief and urgent appeal can become an ethical force: it moves a powerful person toward protective, dharmic response, while reminding that emotion in epic narrative often functions to awaken duty and compassion rather than to undermine reason.

What is happening in the narrative?

The narrator (Vaiśampāyana) describes a woman speaking through tears and repeated sighs; her words are so affecting that they ‘shake’ Bhīmasena’s heart, setting up an imminent response from him within the Virāṭa court episode.