Shanti Parva Adhyaya 139 Shloka 83 - Mahabharata | Tamil | Vedapath

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Shloka 83

Devanagari script

भीष्म उवाच ग्राहयित्वा तु तं॑ स्वार्थ मार्जार मूषिकस्तथा । प्रविवेश तु विश्रभ्य क्रोडमस्य कृतागस:

Transliteration

bhīṣma uvāca: grāhayitvā tu taṁ svārthaṁ mārjāra-mūṣikas tathā | praviveśa tu viśrabdhya kroḍam asya kṛtāgasaḥ ||

Translation

பீஷ்மர் கூறினார்—யுதிஷ்டிரா! இவ்வாறு எலி, பூனையிடம் தன் சுயநலக் கருத்தை ஏற்றுக்கொள்ளச் செய்து; பின்னர் அந்தப் பாவியான பகைவனையே நம்பி, அஞ்சாமலே அவன் மடியில் சென்று அமர்ந்தது.

Word by Word

भीष्मःBhishma

उवाचsaid

ग्राहयित्वाhaving caused (him) to accept / having made (him) agree

तुbut/indeed

तम्him

स्वार्थम्one's own interest/purpose

मार्जारःthe cat

मूषिकःthe mouse/rat

तथाthus/in that manner

प्रविवेशentered

तुindeed/and

विश्रभ्यhaving trusted / having become confident

क्रोडम्lap/bosom

अस्यof him/this (i.e., of that one)

कृतागसःone who has committed an offense; guilty

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhishma

mouse (mūṣika)

cat (mārjāra)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

One should not let self-interest and clever persuasion replace discernment: trusting an acknowledged wrongdoer—especially an enemy—can turn apparent safety into immediate peril.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Bhishma’s illustrative tale, the mouse gets the cat to accept a proposal that benefits the mouse; then, becoming overly confident, the mouse even sits in the cat’s lap—despite the cat being a culpable enemy—showing the danger of misplaced trust.