Shloka 8
न सन्ति लोकेषु पुमांस ईदृशा इत्येव ये भावितबुद्धयः सदा । ज्ञास्यन्ति ते55त्मानमिमेडद्य पाण्डवा विपर्यये षण्ढतिला इवाफला:
Vaiśampāyana uvāca:
na santi lokeṣu pumāṁsa īdṛśā ity eva ye bhāvitabuddhayaḥ sadā |
jñāsyanti te ’tmānam ime ’dya pāṇḍavā viparyaye ṣaṇḍhatilā ivāphalāḥ ||
Sinabi ni Vaiśampāyana: “Yaong laging nagkikimkim ng palalong paniniwala, ‘Sa tatlong daigdig ay walang lalaking tulad namin’—ang mismong mga Pāṇḍava na iyon ngayon, sa pagdating ng kabaligtarang kapalaran, ay naging gaya ng hungkag na butil ng linga: walang laman, walang bunga. Ngayon ay mauunawaan nila ang tunay nilang kalagayan.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Arrogant self-assurance collapses when circumstances reverse; adversity exposes what is truly substantial. The verse warns against pride and highlights the ethical need for humility and self-knowledge.
In the context of the Sabha Parva’s unfolding humiliation and downfall, the speaker remarks that those who once believed themselves unmatched in the worlds—the Pāṇḍavas—have now been brought low by a reversal of fortune, becoming ‘hollow’ and powerless, and are forced to recognize their real situation.