Mahabharata 3.201.78 — Vana Parva, Adhyaya 201, Shloka 78

Dharma-vyādha’s Analysis of Moral Decline and the Mahābhūta–Guṇa Schema (धर्मव्याधोपदेशः)

Devanagari script

मन्युप्रहरणा विप्रा न विप्रा: शस्त्रयोधिन: । निहन्युर्मन्युना विप्रा वजपाणिरिवासुरान्‌

Transliteration

manyupraharaṇā viprā na viprāḥ śastrayodhinaḥ | nihanyur manyunā viprā vajrapāṇir ivāsurān ||

Translation

Dijo Yudhiṣṭhira: «Para los brāhmaṇas, la ira misma es el arma; los brāhmaṇas no son guerreros que dependan de armas de acero. Con la fuerza de una cólera justa pueden destruir al culpable, así como Indra, con el rayo (vajra) en la mano, abate a los asuras.»

Word by Word

• मन्युप्रहरणाः: having anger as their weapon
• मन्युप्रहरणाः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: मन्युप्रहरण
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• विप्राः: brahmins
• विप्राः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: विप्र
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• न: not
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न

• विप्राः: brahmins
• विप्राः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: विप्र
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• शस्त्रयोधिनः: fighters with weapons
• शस्त्रयोधिनः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: शस्त्रयोधिन्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• निहन्युः: would slay / can destroy
• Type: Verb
• Root: हन्
• Form: Optative (Vidhi-lin), 3rd, Plural, Parasmaipada

• मन्युना: by anger
• मन्युना: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: मन्यु
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Singular

• विप्राः: brahmins
• विप्राः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: विप्र
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• वज्रपाणिः: Indra (vajra-in-hand)
• वज्रपाणिः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: वज्रपाणि
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• इव: like, as
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इव

• असुरान्: asuras
• असुरान्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: असुर
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

Speaker

युधिछिर उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Yudhiṣṭhira
• Viprāḥ (Brāhmaṇas)
• Indra (Vajrapāṇi)
• Asuras
• Vajra (thunderbolt)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse contrasts kṣatriya and brāhmaṇa modes of power: brāhmaṇas do not typically fight with physical weapons; their potency lies in moral-spiritual force—especially the destructive efficacy of righteous indignation expressed through tapas and speech (e.g., curse), which can punish wrongdoing.

What is happening in the narrative?

Yudhiṣṭhira is emphasizing the extraordinary, non-martial power attributed to brāhmaṇas in the epic world: when provoked by adharma, their anger can bring ruin upon offenders, comparable to Indra’s thunderbolt destroying the asuras.