Shloka 29
Udyoga Parva, Adhyaya 104: Nārada on Suhṛt and Nirbandha; the Viśvāmitra–Gālava Exemplum Begins
न हि ज्ञातं बल देव मया ते परमं विभो । तेन मन्ये हाहं वीर्यमात्मनो न सम॑ परै:
na hi jñātaṃ bala deva mayā te paramaṃ vibho | tena manye hāhaṃ vīryam ātmano na samaṃ paraiḥ ||
Kaṇva said: “O mighty lord, I have not truly known the full measure of your supreme power, O all-pervading one. Therefore I now realize—alas—that my own prowess is not equal to that of others (who are truly powerful).”
कण्व उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights humility born of insight: recognizing a higher power and admitting one’s own limitations is ethically superior to pride, and it encourages restraint and reverence in action.
Kaṇva addresses a revered, powerful figure as “Deva” and “Vibhu,” confessing that he had not understood the other’s supreme strength; this realization leads him to regretfully reassess his own valor as not comparable.