Shloka 8
न सन्ति लोकेषु पुमांस ईदृशा इत्येव ये भावितबुद्धयः सदा । ज्ञास्यन्ति ते55त्मानमिमेडद्य पाण्डवा विपर्यये षण्ढतिला इवाफला:
Vaiśampāyana uvāca:
na santi lokeṣu pumāṁsa īdṛśā ity eva ye bhāvitabuddhayaḥ sadā |
jñāsyanti te ’tmānam ime ’dya pāṇḍavā viparyaye ṣaṇḍhatilā ivāphalāḥ ||
ヴァイシャンパーヤナは言った。「つねに『三界に我らに比肩する男はない』という驕りを抱いていた者たち――その同じパーンダヴァが、いまや逆境に落ち、空洞の胡麻の実のように、中身も力も実りも失った。今日こそ彼らは、自らの真の有様を知るであろう。」
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Arrogant self-assurance collapses when circumstances reverse; adversity exposes what is truly substantial. The verse warns against pride and highlights the ethical need for humility and self-knowledge.
In the context of the Sabha Parva’s unfolding humiliation and downfall, the speaker remarks that those who once believed themselves unmatched in the worlds—the Pāṇḍavas—have now been brought low by a reversal of fortune, becoming ‘hollow’ and powerless, and are forced to recognize their real situation.