Mahabharata 3.52.8 — Vana Parva, Adhyaya 52, Shloka 8
Nala’s Embassy to Damayantī and the Gods’ Proposal (नलस्य दूतत्वं देवप्रस्तावश्च)
योडसौ गच्छति धर्मात्मा बहून् क्लेशान् विचिन्तयन् । भवतन्नियोगाद् बीभत्सुस्ततो दुःखतरं नु किम्
yo ’sau gacchati dharmātmā bahūn kleśān vicintayan | bhavatāṃ niyogād bībhatsus tato duḥkhataraṃ nu kim ||
தர்மாத்மாவான பீபத்ஸு (அர்ஜுனன்) பல துன்பங்களை மனத்தில் எண்ணிக்கொண்டே உங்கள் ஆணையால் தவத்திற்குச் சென்றான்—இதற்கும் மேலான துயரம் என்ன இருக்க முடியும்?
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical weight of dharma-driven action: a righteous person may accept severe hardship when duty and obedience to rightful instruction demand it, and such self-chosen suffering becomes a measure of the situation’s gravity.
Vaiśampāyana remarks that Arjuna—called Bībhatsu—has departed for austerities on the instruction of others, while contemplating many difficulties; the speaker frames this as an extreme form of sorrow, implying that circumstances have become painfully demanding for the righteous.
Ask anything about this verse
Curious about the meaning, context, or a word? Ask, and continue the conversation in the Vedapath app.
A free Google sign-in keeps your chat saved across web and the app.
Read Mahabharata in the Vedapath app
Scan the QR code to open this directly in the app, with audio, word-by-word meanings, and more.