Mahabharata · 1.142.1–2
॥
Devanāgarī
वैशंपायन उवाच
प्रबुद्धास् ते हिडिम्बाया रूपं दृष्ट्वातिमानुषम् ॥
विस्मिताः पुरुषव्याघ्रा बभूवुः पृथया सह ॥
ततः कुन्ती समीक्ष्यैनां विस्मिता रूपसंपदा ॥
उवाच मधुरं वाक्यं सान्त्वपूर्वम् इदं शनैः ॥
Transliteration (IAST)
vaiśaṃpāyana uvāca
prabuddhās te hiḍimbāyā rūpaṃ dṛṣṭvātimānuṣam ||
vismitāḥ puruṣavyāghrā babhūvuḥ pṛthayā saha ||
tataḥ kuntī samīkṣyaināṃ vismitā rūpasaṃpadā ||
uvāca madhuraṃ vākyaṃ sāntvapūrvam idaṃ śanaiḥ ||
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
प्रबुद्धाः ते हिडिम्बायाः रूपं दृष्ट्वा अतिमानुषम्prabuddhāḥ te hiḍimbāyāḥ rūpaṃ dṛṣṭvā atimānuṣamhaving awoken and seen Hidimba's superhuman beauty,
विस्मिताः पुरुषव्याघ्राः बभूवुः पृथया सहvismitāḥ puruṣavyāghrāḥ babhūvuḥ pṛthayā sahathose tiger-like men, together with Pritha, were astonished;
ततः कुन्ती समीक्ष्य एनां विस्मिता रूपसंपदाtataḥ kuntī samīkṣya enāṃ vismitā rūpasaṃpadāthen Kunti, beholding her, astonished by the wealth of her beauty,
उवाच मधुरं वाक्यं सान्त्वपूर्वम् इदं शनैःuvāca madhuraṃ vākyaṃ sāntvapūrvam idaṃ śanaiḥsoftly spoke this sweet, gentle word:
वैशंपायनvaiśaṃpāyanaoriginal form "vaiśaṃpāyana", added to complete the word-by-word coverage
प्रबुद्धास्prabuddhāsoriginal form "prabuddhās", added to complete the word-by-word coverage
हिडिम्बायाhiḍimbāyāoriginal form "hiḍimbāyā", added to complete the word-by-word coverage
दृष्ट्वातिमानुषम्dṛṣṭvātimānuṣamoriginal form "dṛṣṭvātimānuṣam", added to complete the word-by-word coverage
पुरुषव्याघ्राpuruṣavyāghrāoriginal form "puruṣavyāghrā", added to complete the word-by-word coverage
समीक्ष्यैनांsamīkṣyaināṃoriginal form "samīkṣyaināṃ", added to complete the word-by-word coverage
Translation
Vaishampayana said: "Having awoken and seen Hidimba's superhuman beauty, those tiger-like men, together with Pritha, were astonished. Then Kunti, beholding her and astonished by the wealth of her beauty, softly spoke this sweet, gentle word."
Version
c5016cb59ec2 · published Jul 12, 2026, 5:09:57 PM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
Here Kunti meets the stranger not with suspicion but with tenderness. It is telling that the mother of the Pandavas, waking in the night beside a fearsome forest and seeing a being of an alien kind, addresses it "sweetly" and "gently": nobility shows itself in graciousness even toward the unknown. Here is a good heart that does not rush to see an enemy in whoever it meets: a pure heart inclines toward trust and mercy. The verse shows in Kunti a model of maternal gentleness that disarms and wins over; and this very graciousness opens the way to a good outcome.