Mahabharata 3.2.8 — Vana Parva, Adhyaya 2, Shloka 8

ब्राह्मणानुयात्रा—शौनकोपदेशः

Brāhmaṇas Follow into Exile and Śaunaka’s Instruction

Devanagari script

आहरेयुरिमे येडषपि फलमूलमधूनि च । त इमे शोकजेैर्दु:खैर्भ्रातरो मे विमोहिता:

Transliteration

āhareyur ime ye 'pi phala-mūla-madhūni ca | ta ime śoka-jair duḥkhair bhrātaro me vimohitāḥ ||

Translation

ยุธิษฐิระกล่าวว่า “แม้ผู้ที่สามารถออกไปหาอาหาร—ผลไม้ รากไม้ และน้ำผึ้ง—ก็นั่นแหละคือพี่น้องของเรา บัดนี้กลับมึนงง ถูกความทุกข์ที่เกิดจากโศกครอบงำ”

Word by Word

• [{'term': 'āhareyuḥ', 'definition': 'could bring (back), could procure (food)

• optative/possibility sense'}, {'term': 'ime', 'definition': 'these (people), here: my brothers present here'}, {'term': "ye 'pi", 'definition': 'even those who'}, {'term': 'phala', 'definition': 'fruit'}, {'term': 'mūla', 'definition': 'root

• edible roots/tubers'}, {'term': 'madhūni', 'definition': 'honeys

• honey (as food)'}, {'term': 'śoka-jaiḥ', 'definition': 'born of grief

• arising from sorrow'}, {'term': 'duḥkhaiḥ', 'definition': 'by sufferings, by pains'}, {'term': 'bhrātaraḥ', 'definition': 'brothers'}, {'term': 'me', 'definition': 'my'}, {'term': 'vimohitāḥ', 'definition': 'bewildered, deluded, mentally overwhelmed'}]

Speaker

युधिछिर उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Yudhiṣṭhira
• the Pāṇḍava brothers (collectively)
• fruits (phala)
• roots (mūla)
• honey (madhu)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights how grief can paralyze even capable people, and it frames Yudhiṣṭhira’s ethical anxiety: he wishes to uphold reverence and proper support for Brahmins/guests, yet feels pained by the lack of means in exile. It underscores the dharmic tension between intention (bhakti/śraddhā) and practical capacity (upakaraṇa/saṃbhāra).

What is happening in the narrative?

In the early forest-exile setting, Yudhiṣṭhira observes that his brothers—who could normally gather simple forest provisions like fruits, roots, and honey—are now mentally overwhelmed by sorrow. He voices his distress that their grief and their reduced resources hinder their ability to meet duties of support and hospitality.