Anushasana Parva Adhyaya 162 Shloka 29 - Mahabharata | English | Vedapath

Vyasa

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Shloka 29

Devanagari script

जिद्दामूले स्थितास्तस्य सर्वे देवा: सवासवा: । तिमेरास्यमनुप्राप्ता यथा मत्स्या महार्णवे

Transliteration

jihvāmūle sthitās tasya sarve devāḥ savāsavāḥ | timerāsyam anuprāptā yathā matsyā mahārṇave ||

Translation

Cyavana said: “All the gods, together with Indra, were lodged at the root of his tongue—just as fish in the great ocean come to be swallowed into the mouth of the mighty sea-creature Timi.”

Word by Word

जिह्वा-मूलेat the root of the tongue

स्थिताःstanding / stationed

तस्यof him / of that (being)

सर्वेall

देवाःgods

स-वासवाःtogether with Vāsava (Indra)

तिमि-रास्यम्the mouth of the Timi (great fish)

अनुप्राप्ताःhaving reached / having come into

यथाjust as

मत्स्याःfishes

महा-अर्णवेin the great ocean

Speaker

च्यवन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Cyavana (Chyavana)

Indra (Vāsava)

Devas

Timi (sea-creature)

Mahārṇava (great ocean)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse uses a vivid simile to show how quickly power can collapse into vulnerability. Ethically, it cautions against arrogance and disrespect—especially toward sages and dharma—since the consequences can overwhelm even the gods, forcing humility and the search for reconciliation.

What is happening in the narrative?

Cyavana describes a terrifying being (contextually, Mad) before whom the gods, including Indra, are trapped at the base of its tongue. Their predicament is compared to fish swallowed by the great sea-creature Timi in the ocean, emphasizing their helplessness and imminent danger.