Adi Parva Adhyaya 181 Shloka 19 - Mahabharata | Tamil | Vedapath

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Shloka 19

Ādi Parva, Adhyāya 181 — Svayaṃvara Aftermath: Arjuna–Karna Exchange and Bhīma–Śalya Contest

Devanagari script

प्रेक्षन्त्या भक्षितो मेडद्य प्रियो भर्ता महायशा: । तस्मात्‌ त्वमपि दुर्बुद्धे मच्छापपरिविक्षत:

Transliteration

gandharva uvāca | prekṣantyā bhakṣito medadya priyo bhartā mahāyaśāḥ | tasmāt tvam api durbuddhe macchāpaparivikṣataḥ ||

Translation

“என் கண்முன்னே இன்று என் பெருமைமிக்க அன்புக் கணவர் விழுங்கப்பட்டார்; ஆகவே துர்புத்தியே, நீயும் என் சாபத்தால் பீடிக்கப்படுவாய்.”

Word by Word

प्रेक्षन्त्याwhile (she) was looking on

भक्षितःwas eaten/devoured

मेof me / my

अद्यtoday

प्रियःdear/beloved

भर्ताhusband

महायशाःgreatly renowned

तस्मात्therefore / from that (reason)

त्वम्you

अपिalso/even

दुर्बुद्धेO evil-minded one

मत्my

शापcurse

परिविक्षतःafflicted/stricken (by)

Speaker

गन्धर्व उवाच

Characters & Entities

Gandharva (speaker)

Brahmin woman (brāhmaṇī; in the prose context)

Her husband (brāhmaṇa-bhartā)

King Kalmāṣapāda (in the prose context)

Mahārṣi Vasiṣṭha (in the prose context)

Vasiṣṭha’s sons (in the prose context)

Curse (śāpa)

Fire arising from tears (in the prose context)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

A ruler’s power does not excuse cruelty: violating dharma—especially harming the innocent and the Brahmin household—invites immediate moral and karmic retribution. The curse functions as a narrative mechanism to assert ethical order when worldly authority becomes predatory.

What is happening in the narrative?

A Brahmin woman witnesses her husband being devoured by the king (Kalmāṣapāda) despite her lament. Overwhelmed by grief and anger, she (and/or the supernatural voice here attributed to a Gandharva) pronounces a curse that the king will die upon approaching his wife in the fertile season; the broader episode also links the continuation of his lineage to Vasiṣṭha’s line.