Mahabharata 1.151.30 — Adi Parva, Adhyaya 151, Shloka 30
बक-राक्षसस्य आह्वानम् तथा वृक्षयुद्धम्
Summons of Baka and the Tree-Weapon Engagement
अयं नीलाम्बुदश्यामो नरेष्वप्रतिमो<र्जुन: । शेते प्राकृतववद् भूमौ ततो दुःखतरं नु किम्
ayaṃ nīlāmbudaśyāmo nareṣv apratimo 'rjunaḥ | śete prākṛtavad bhūmau tato duḥkhataraṃ nu kim ||
Vaiśampāyana nói: “Arjuna—đen sẫm như mây mưa nặng hạt, và giữa loài người không ai sánh kịp—nay lại nằm trên nền đất trơ trọi như một kẻ thường dân. Còn nỗi sầu nào lớn hơn thế?”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the fragility of worldly status: even the greatest among humans can be brought low by circumstance. It evokes compassion and moral urgency by showing how suffering can overturn outward glory, prompting reflection on duty (dharma) and the proper response to another’s misfortune.
The narrator Vaiśampāyana points to Arjuna—renowned and peerless—now lying on the ground like an ordinary man. The image underscores a moment of intense distress and humiliation, emphasizing how extraordinary heroes can be reduced to helplessness, thereby intensifying the pathos of the situation.
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.