Mahabharata 9.50.10 — Shalya Parva, Adhyaya 50, Shloka 10

Sārasvata–Dadhīca Upākhyāna at Sarasvatī Tīrtha

Balarāma’s Pilgrimage Context

Devanagari script

स दृष्ट्वा भिक्षुरूपेण प्राप्तं॑ तत्र महामुनिम्‌

Transliteration

sa dṛṣṭvā bhikṣurūpeṇa prāptaṁ tatra mahāmunim

Translation

Ele viu ali o grande sábio, que chegara sob o disfarce de um mendicante.

Word by Word

• सः: he
• सः: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• दृष्ट्वा: having seen
• Type: Verb
• Root: दृश्
• Form: क्त्वा (absolutive/gerund), Parasmaipada (usage-neutral for gerund)

• भिक्षु-रूपेण: in the form of a mendicant
• भिक्षु-रूपेण: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: भिक्षु-रूप
• Form: Neuter, Instrumental, Singular

• प्राप्तम्: arrived/come
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र-आप्
• Form: क्त (past passive participle), Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र

• महामुनिम्: the great sage
• महामुनिम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: महामुनि
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• mahāmuni (great sage)
• bhikṣu (mendicant guise)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse foregrounds how dharma may be tested through appearances: a revered figure may come in humble disguise, prompting discernment, restraint, and ethical response rather than judgment based on outward form.

What is happening in the narrative?

A character (referred to simply as ‘he’) notices that a great sage has arrived at that place, but the sage is presented as coming in the guise of a mendicant, setting up an encounter where identity and intention matter.