Bhima Rebukes Yudhishthira

Verse 1 (12.10.1)

श्रोत्रियस्येव ते राजन्मन्दकस्याविपश्चितः । अनुवाकहता बुद्धिर्नैषा तत्त्वार्थदर्शिनी ॥

śrotriyasyeva te rājanmandakasyāvipaścitaḥ | anuvākahatā buddhirnaiṣā tattvārthadarśinī

O king, your mind is like that of a dull, unwise Vedic reciter, blunted by the rote-learning of his chapters. It does not see the truth of things.

Verse 2 (12.10.2)

आलस्ये कृतचित्तस्य राजधर्मानसूयतः । विनाशे धार्तराष्ट्राणां किं फलं भरतर्षभ ॥

ālasye kṛtacittasya rājadharmānasūyataḥ | vināśe dhārtarāṣṭrāṇāṃ kiṃ phalaṃ bharatarṣabha

O best of the Bharatas, what fruit is there in the destruction of Dhritarashtra's sons for one whose heart is set on idleness and who finds fault with the duties of a king?

Verse 3 (12.10.3)

क्षमाऽनुकम्पा कारुण्यमानृशंस्यं न विद्यते । क्षात्रमाचरतो मार्गमपि बन्धोस्त्वदन्तरे ॥

kṣamā'nukampā kāruṇyamānṛśaṃsyaṃ na vidyate | kṣātramācarato mārgamapi bandhostvadantare

For one who follows the warrior's path there is no room for forgiveness, pity, compassion or gentleness, not even toward a kinsman other than you.

Verse 4 (12.10.4)

यदीमां भवतो बुद्धिं विद्याम वयमीदृशीम् । शस्त्रं नैव ग्रहीष्यामो न वधिष्याम कंचन ॥

yadīmāṃ bhavato buddhiṃ vidyāma vayamīdṛśīm | śastraṃ naiva grahīṣyāmo na vadhiṣyāma kaṃcana

If we had known that this was how you think, we would never have taken up weapons, and we would have killed no one.

Verse 5 (12.10.5)

भैक्षमेवाचरिष्याम शरीरस्याविमोक्षणात् । न चेदं दारुणं युद्धमभविष्यन्महीक्षिताम् ॥

bhaikṣamevācariṣyāma śarīrasyāvimokṣaṇāt | na cedaṃ dāruṇaṃ yuddhamabhaviṣyanmahīkṣitām

We would have lived by begging alms, only to keep the body from perishing, and this dreadful war of kings would never have taken place.

Verse 6 (12.10.6)

प्राणस्यान्नमिदं सर्वमिति वै कवयो विदुः । स्थावरं जङ्गमं चैव सर्वं प्राणस्य भोजनम् ॥

prāṇasyānnamidaṃ sarvamiti vai kavayo viduḥ | sthāvaraṃ jaṅgamaṃ caiva sarvaṃ prāṇasya bhojanam

All this is food for the living, so the wise have said. Everything, moving and unmoving, is the nourishment of the living.

Verse 7 (12.10.7)

आददानस्य चेद्राज्यं ये केचित्परिपन्थिनः । हन्तव्यास्त इति प्राज्ञाः क्षत्रधर्मविदो विदुः ॥

ādadānasya cedrājyaṃ ye kecitparipanthinaḥ | hantavyāsta iti prājñāḥ kṣatradharmavido viduḥ

If a man is winning a kingdom, then whoever stands in his way must be killed. So say the wise who know the duty of a warrior.

Verse 8 (12.10.8)

ते सदोषा हताऽस्माभिरन्नस्य परिपन्थिनः । तान्हत्वा भुङ्क्ष्व धर्मेण युधिष्ठिर महीमिमाम् ॥

te sadoṣā hatā'smābhirannasya paripanthinaḥ | tānhatvā bhuṅkṣva dharmeṇa yudhiṣṭhira mahīmimām

Those guilty ones, who stood between you and your food, have been slain by us. Having killed them, enjoy this earth justly, Yudhishthira.

Verse 9 (12.10.9)

यथा हि पुरुषः खात्वा कूपमप्राप्य चोदकम् । पङ्कदिग्धो निवर्तेत कर्मेदं नस्तथोपमम् ॥

yathā hi puruṣaḥ khātvā kūpamaprāpya codakam | paṅkadigdho nivarteta karmedaṃ nastathopamam

Just as a man who has dug a well and not reached water turns back smeared with mud, so is this work of ours.

Note on the text: Corrected निवर्तेत् → निवर्तेत (misprint in Wikisource; stray virama; the critical edition reads nivarteta).

Verse 10 (12.10.10)

यथाऽऽरुह्य महावृक्षमपहृत्य ततो मधु । अप्राश्य निधनं गच्छेत्कर्मेदं नस्तथोपमम् ॥

yathā''ruhya mahāvṛkṣamapahṛtya tato madhu | aprāśya nidhanaṃ gacchetkarmedaṃ nastathopamam

Or just as a man who has climbed a great tree and taken honey from it should die without tasting it, so is this work of ours.

Verse 11 (12.10.11)

यथा महान्तमध्वानमाशया पुरुषः पतन् । स निराशो निवर्तेत कर्मैतन्नस्तथोपमम् ॥

yathā mahāntamadhvānamāśayā puruṣaḥ patan | sa nirāśo nivarteta karmaitannastathopamam

Or just as a man who sets out along a long road in hope should turn back in despair, so is this work of ours.

Verse 12 (12.10.12)

यथा शत्रून्घातयित्वा पुरुषः कुरुनन्दन । आत्मानं घातयेत्पश्चात्कर्मेदं नस्तथोपमम् ॥

yathā śatrūnghātayitvā puruṣaḥ kurunandana | ātmānaṃ ghātayetpaścātkarmedaṃ nastathopamam

Or just as a man, O joy of the Kurus, who has had his enemies slain should afterwards have himself slain, so is this work of ours.

Verse 13 (12.10.13)

यथान्नं क्षुधितो लब्ध्वा न भुञ्जीयाद्यदृच्छया । कामी च कामिनीं लब्ध्वा कर्मेदं नस्तथोपमम् ॥

yathānnaṃ kṣudhito labdhvā na bhuñjīyādyadṛcchayā | kāmī ca kāminīṃ labdhvā karmedaṃ nastathopamam

Or just as a hungry man who has got food should not eat it though it fell to him by chance, or a lover who has won his beloved should not enjoy her, so is this work of ours.

Verse 14 (12.10.14)

वयमेवात्र गर्ह्या हि यद्वयं मन्दचेतसम् । त्वां राजन्ननुगच्छामो ज्येष्ठोऽयमिति भारत ॥

vayamevātra garhyā hi yadvayaṃ mandacetasam | tvāṃ rājannanugacchāmo jyeṣṭho'yamiti bhārata

We ourselves are to blame here, for following you, O king, though your mind is dull, only because we thought, "He is the eldest," O Bharata.

Verse 15 (12.10.15)

वयं हि बाहुबलिनः कृतविद्या मनस्विनः । क्लीबस्य वाक्ये तिष्ठामो यथैवाशक्तयस्तथा ॥

vayaṃ hi bāhubalinaḥ kṛtavidyā manasvinaḥ | klībasya vākye tiṣṭhāmo yathaivāśaktayastathā

We are strong of arm, learned and high-spirited, yet we stay obedient to the word of a weakling, as though we were powerless.

Verse 16 (12.10.16)

अगतीकगतीनस्मान्नष्टार्थानर्थसिद्धये । कथं वै नानुपश्येयुर्जनाः पश्यत यादृशम् ॥

agatīkagatīnasmānnaṣṭārthānarthasiddhaye | kathaṃ vai nānupaśyeyurjanāḥ paśyata yādṛśam

We who should be the refuge of the helpless have lost our purpose in the very pursuit of it. How could people fail to take note of us? See what manner of men we are!

Note on the text: Corrected नष्टार्थनर्थसिद्धये → नष्टार्थानर्थसिद्धये (misprint in Wikisource; dropped ā-mātrā in the sandhi naṣṭārthān + arthasiddhaye; the critical edition reads naṣṭārthān arthasiddhaye). Line 1 agatīkagatīn is a recension variant of the critical edition's agatīn kāgatīn.

Verse 17 (12.10.17)

आपत्काले हि संन्यासः कर्तव्य इति शिष्यते । जरयाऽभिपरीतेन शत्रुभिर्व्यंसितेन वा ॥

āpatkāle hi saṃnyāsaḥ kartavya iti śiṣyate | jarayā'bhiparītena śatrubhirvyaṃsitena vā

Renunciation is prescribed for a time of calamity, when a man is overcome by old age or ruined by his enemies.

Verse 18 (12.10.18)

तस्मादिह कृतप्रज्ञास्त्यागं न परिचक्षते । धर्मव्यतिक्रमं चैव मन्यन्ते सूक्ष्मदर्शिनः ॥

tasmādiha kṛtaprajñāstyāgaṃ na paricakṣate | dharmavyatikramaṃ caiva manyante sūkṣmadarśinaḥ

That is why the wise of settled judgement do not recommend renunciation in this world, and those who see subtly regard it as a breach of dharma.

Verse 19 (12.10.19)

कथं तस्मात्समुत्पन्नास्तन्निष्ठास्तदुपाश्रयाः । तदेव निन्दां भाषेयुर्धाता तत्र न गर्ह्यते ॥

kathaṃ tasmātsamutpannāstanniṣṭhāstadupāśrayāḥ | tadeva nindāṃ bhāṣeyurdhātā tatra na garhyate

How could those who were born of it, devoted to it and living by it speak ill of that very thing? In this the Creator himself is not blamed.

Note on the text: Recension variant of CE 12.10.19 (the critical edition reads kathaṃ tasmāt samutpannas tanniṣṭhas tad upāśrayaḥ / tad eva nindann āsīta śraddhā vānyatra gṛhyate).

Verse 20 (12.10.20)

श्रिया विहीनैरधनैर्नास्तिकैः संप्रवर्तितम् । वेदवादस्य विज्ञानं सत्याभासमिवानृतम् ॥

śriyā vihīnairadhanairnāstikaiḥ saṃpravartitam | vedavādasya vijñānaṃ satyābhāsamivānṛtam

This teaching of Vedic statements was set going by men bereft of fortune, by paupers and unbelievers: a knowledge that looks like truth but is falsehood.

Note on the text: Corrected सत्याभासमिवानृत् → सत्याभासमिवानृतम् (misprint in Wikisource; truncated final syllable; the critical edition reads satyābhāsam ivānṛtam).

Verse 21 (12.10.21)

शक्यं तु मौनमास्थाय बिभ्रताऽऽत्मानमात्मना । धर्मच्छद्म समास्थाय च्यवितुं न तु जीवितुम् ॥

śakyaṃ tu maunamāsthāya bibhratā''tmānamātmanā | dharmacchadma samāsthāya cyavituṃ na tu jīvitum

A man may keep to silence, sustaining himself by himself, and under the cloak of dharma perish, but he cannot truly live.

Note on the text: Corrected धर्मच्छझ → धर्मच्छद्म (misprint in Wikisource; द्म garbled as झ; the critical edition reads dharmacchadma). Lines differ from the critical edition (मौनम्/च्यवितुम् against mauṇḍyam/āsituṃ): recension variants.

Verse 22 (12.10.22)

शक्यं पुनररण्येषु सुखमेकेन जीवितुम् । अबिभ्रता पुत्रपौत्रान्देवर्षीनतिथीन्पितॄन् ॥

śakyaṃ punararaṇyeṣu sukhamekena jīvitum | abibhratā putrapautrāndevarṣīnatithīnpitṝn

It would be possible instead to live happily alone in the forests, without supporting sons and grandsons, gods, sages, guests and ancestors.

Verse 23 (12.10.23)

नेमे मृगाः स्वर्गजितो न वराहा न पक्षिणः । अथान्येन प्रकारेण पुण्यमाहुर्न ते जनाः ॥

neme mṛgāḥ svargajito na varāhā na pakṣiṇaḥ | athānyena prakāreṇa puṇyamāhurna te janāḥ

These deer, boars and birds do not win heaven by living in the wild, and in no other way do those people call such a life meritorious.

Verse 24 (12.10.24)

यदि संन्यासतः सिद्धिं राजा कश्चिदवाप्नुयात् । पर्वताश्च द्रुमाश्चैव क्षिप्रम् सिद्धिमवाप्नुयुः ॥

yadi saṃnyāsataḥ siddhiṃ rājā kaścidavāpnuyāt | parvatāśca drumāścaiva kṣipram siddhimavāpnuyuḥ

If a king could gain success by renunciation, then mountains and trees would quickly gain success.

Note on the text: Corrected दुमाश्चैव → द्रुमाश्चैव (misprint in Wikisource; dropped र) and क्षिप्तं → क्षिप्रम् (misprint; प्र garbled as प्त; the critical edition reads parvatāś ca drumāś caiva kṣipraṃ siddhim avāpnuyuḥ).

Verse 25 (12.10.25)

एते हि नित्यसंन्यासा दृश्यन्ते निरुपद्रवाः । अपरिग्रहवन्तश्च सततं ब्रह्मचारिणः ॥

ete hi nityasaṃnyāsā dṛśyante nirupadravāḥ | aparigrahavantaśca satataṃ brahmacāriṇaḥ

These are seen to live in constant renunciation, untroubled, owning nothing, and always chaste.

Verse 26 (12.10.26)

अथ चेदात्मभाग्येषु नान्येषां सिद्धिमश्नुते । तस्मात्कर्मैव कर्तव्यं नास्ति सिद्धिरकर्मणः ॥

atha cedātmabhāgyeṣu nānyeṣāṃ siddhimaśnute | tasmātkarmaiva kartavyaṃ nāsti siddhirakarmaṇaḥ

And if, among what falls to one's own portion, no one gains the success of others, then action alone must be done; there is no success without action.

Note on the text: Corrected सिद्धिमश्र्नुते → सिद्धिमश्नुते (misprint in Wikisource; stray र् in the conjunct; the critical edition reads siddhim aśnute).

Verse 27 (12.10.27)

औदकाः सृष्टयश्चैव जन्तवः सिद्धिमाप्नुयुः । तेषामात्मैव भर्तव्यो नान्यः कश्चन विद्यते ॥

audakāḥ sṛṣṭayaścaiva jantavaḥ siddhimāpnuyuḥ | teṣāmātmaiva bhartavyo nānyaḥ kaścana vidyate

Creatures of the water and other created beings attain their ends; each of them has only itself to support, and no one else exists for it.

Verse 28 (12.10.28)

अवेक्षस्व यथा स्वैः स्वैः कर्मभिर्व्यापृतं जगत् । तस्मात्कर्मैव कर्तव्यं नास्ति सिद्धिरकर्मणः ॥

avekṣasva yathā svaiḥ svaiḥ karmabhirvyāpṛtaṃ jagat | tasmātkarmaiva kartavyaṃ nāsti siddhirakarmaṇaḥ

See how the whole world is engaged in its own several actions. Therefore action alone must be done; there is no success without action.

Note on the text: Corrected स्वैः → स्वैः स्वैः (the second स्वैः dropped in Wikisource; the line is a syllable short and the critical edition reads yathā svaiḥ svaiḥ karmabhir) and न्प्रस्ति → नास्ति (misprint; the critical edition reads nāsti).