Mahabharata 3.268.4 — Vana Parva, Adhyaya 268, Shloka 4

अङ्गददूतवाक्यं लङ्काप्राकारभेदनं च

Angada’s Embassy and the Breach of Laṅkā’s Ramparts

Devanagari script

प्रतिभान्ति महाबाहो सत्यमेतद्‌ ब्रवीमि ते । दर्शनादेव हि मनस्तया मे5पहतं भूशम्‌

Transliteration

pratibhānti mahābāho satyam etad bravīmi te | darśanād eva hi manas tayā me 'pahataṃ bhūśam ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana said: “O mighty-armed one, these things appear to me clearly; I tell you this truth. Indeed, from the very moment I beheld her, my mind has been utterly struck and overwhelmed by her.”

Word by Word

• प्रतिभान्ति: appear, seem
• प्रतिभान्ति: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्रतिभा (धातु: भा)
• Form: लट् (वर्तमान), प्रथम, बहुवचन

• महाबाहो: O mighty-armed one
• महाबाहो: Sampradana
• Type: Noun
• Root: महाबाहु
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचन

• सत्यम्: truth
• सत्यम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: सत्य
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• एतत्: this
• एतत्: Karma
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: एतद्
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• ब्रवीमि: I say
• ब्रवीमि: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: ब्रू
• Form: लट् (वर्तमान), उत्तम, एकवचन

• ते: to you
• ते: Sampradana
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: युष्मद्
• Form: —, चतुर्थी, एकवचन

• दर्शनात्: from (the) seeing; by the sight
• दर्शनात्: Apadana
• Type: Noun
• Root: दर्शन
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी, एकवचन

• एव: indeed, just
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव

• हि: for, indeed
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: हि

• मनः: mind
• मनः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: मनस्
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• तया: by her / by that (woman)
• तया: Karana
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचन

• मे: my
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: अस्मद्
• Form: —, षष्ठी, एकवचन

• अपहतम्: carried away, removed
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अपहृ (कृदन्त: अपहत)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• भूयः: again, further, more
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: भूयस्

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• mahābāho (addressee, unnamed here)
• tayā (a woman referenced but not named in this verse)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse foregrounds satya (truthful speech) and honest self-reporting: the speaker insists on the truth of his experience and acknowledges how mere perception (darśana) can powerfully disturb the mind, a reminder to recognize and govern inner impulses.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana, narrating the episode, addresses a heroic listener and states that upon seeing a certain woman, his mind became intensely overwhelmed; he emphasizes that he is speaking truthfully about the force of that encounter.