Mahabharata (Gita Press) 3.39.21 - Vana Parva, Adhyaya 39, Shloka 21
Arjuna’s Himalayan Departure and the Commencement of Severe Tapas
Janamejaya’s Inquiry; Sages Approach Śiva
न होष मृगयाधर्मो यस्त्वयाद्य कृतो मयि । तेन त्वां भ्रंशयिष्यामि जीवितात् पर्वताश्रयम्
na hoṣa mṛgayādharmo yas tvayādyā kṛto mayi | tena tvāṃ bhraṃśayiṣyāmi jīvitāt parvatāśrayam ||
„Was du heute mir gegenüber getan hast, ist nicht der rechte Brauch der Jagd. Für dieses Vergehen werde ich dich, auch wenn du in den Bergen wohnst, aus dem Leben selbst stürzen.“
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse invokes mṛgayā-dharma, the ethical code governing hunting and pursuit, to condemn an act as dishonorable and outside accepted norms; it frames punishment as a consequence of violating dharma.
A speaker denounces another’s conduct as contrary to the proper rules of the hunt and threatens lethal retribution, emphasizing that even a mountain-dweller cannot escape the consequences of wrongdoing.
Ask anything about this verse
Answers come straight from the texts, with the shlokas they draw on. Ask in your own words.
A free Google sign-in keeps your chat saved across web and the app.
Read Mahabharata (Gita Press) in the Vedapath app
Scan the QR code to open this directly in the app, with word-by-word meanings, Sanskrit recitation where available, and more.