Bhima Laments His Family's Plight and Decides to Keep Watch
Returning with water, Bhima finds his royal mother and brothers asleep on the bare ground, exhausted by their flight. Overcome with grief at their fallen state, he resolves to stay awake and guard them through the dangerous night.
Bhima returned with the water-soaked cloth to the fig tree. There, he saw his mother and brothers asleep on the ground.
The sight afflicted Vrikodara with great grief, and he lamented aloud.
“Earlier, they could not sleep in Varanavata on expensive beds. Now they are asleep on the ground.” His eyes went to his mother. “Kunti is the daughter of Kuntibhoja and is blessed with all the auspicious marks. She is the sister of Vasudeva, who grinds his enemies down. She is the daughter-in-law of Vichitravirya and the wife of the great-souled Pandu. She is as radiant as the filament of a lotus. The most delicate of all women, she should always sleep in palaces, on the most expensive of beds. Look at how she now sleeps on the ground.”
He looked at his brothers. “She has given birth to sons through Dharma, Indra and the wind-god. She is now tired and asleep on the ground like a common person. What more painful sight will I see than what I am seeing now?”
He took in each of them. “I see those tigers among men sleeping on the ground. The king, who is always devoted to dharma and who deserves all the three worlds as his kingdom, is tired and asleep on the ground like an ordinary person.” This was Yudhishthira. “He whose complexion is like the blue ocean and who is unequalled among men is asleep on the ground like an ordinary person.” This was Arjuna. “What can be more painful than this? The twins, who are as handsome as the divine Ashvins, are asleep on the ground like ordinary men.” These were Nakula and Sahadeva.
His sorrow turned into a reflection on kinship. “He who has no evil relatives who defile his lineage lives happily, like a single tree in a village. When there is only one tree with leaves and fruits in a village, it is without kin, becomes sacred and venerated and is worshipped. They who have many relatives who are virtuous and brave live happily in this world, without disease. They make the sons of their friends and relatives powerful and prosperous, living on each other’s support like trees in a garden.”
Then his thoughts returned to their immediate plight. “We have been banished by the evil-souled Dhritarashtra and his sons. We escaped the conflagration he had instructed. Having escaped from that fire, we have now found refuge under this tree. Having suffered unequalled misfortunes, where will we go now?”
He peered into the darkness. “I think I see a city not far away from this forest.” A plan began to form. The immediate need was clear. “But someone should be awake while they are sleeping. Therefore, I will stay awake. When they awake and have rested, they can drink the water.”
Having decided this, Bhima himself stayed awake, keeping watch over his sleeping family.