Mahabharata · 1.146.16–17
॥
Devanāgarī
इमाम् अपि च ते बालाम् अनाथां परिभूय माम् ॥
अनर्हाः प्रार्थयिष्यन्ति शूद्रा वेदश्रुतिं यथा ॥
तां चेद् अहं न दित्सेयं त्वद्गुणैर् उपबृंहिताम् ॥
प्रमथ्यैनां हरेयुस् ते हविर् ध्वाङ्क्षा इवाध्वरात् ॥
Transliteration (IAST)
imām api ca te bālām anāthāṃ paribhūya mām ||
anarhāḥ prārthayiṣyanti śūdrā vedaśrutiṃ yathā ||
tāṃ ced ahaṃ na ditseyaṃ tvadguṇair upabṛṃhitām ||
pramathyaināṃ hareyus te havir dhvāṅkṣā ivādhvarāt ||
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
इमाम् अपि च ते बालाम् अनाथां परिभूय माम्imām api ca te bālām anāthāṃ paribhūya mām"and this your defenseless girl, scorning me,
अनर्हाः प्रार्थयिष्यन्ति शूद्राः वेदश्रुतिं यथाanarhāḥ prārthayiṣyanti śūdrāḥ vedaśrutiṃ yathāthe unworthy will seek out, as the unworthy [seek] knowledge of the Veda;
तां चेत् अहं न दित्सेयं त्वद्गुणैः उपबृंहिताम्tāṃ cet ahaṃ na ditseyaṃ tvadguṇaiḥ upabṛṃhitāmand if I do not give her away, filled with your virtues,
प्रमथ्य एनां हरेयुः ते हविः ध्वाङ्क्षाः इव अध्वरात्pramathya enāṃ hareyuḥ te haviḥ dhvāṅkṣāḥ iva adhvarātthey will crush and carry her off, as crows [carry off] the oblation from a rite;
शूद्राśūdrāoriginal form "śūdrā", added to complete the word-by-word coverage
चेद्cedoriginal form "ced", added to complete the word-by-word coverage
त्वद्गुणैर्tvadguṇairoriginal form "tvadguṇair", added to complete the word-by-word coverage
प्रमथ्यैनांpramathyaināṃoriginal form "pramathyaināṃ", added to complete the word-by-word coverage
हरेयुस्hareyusoriginal form "hareyus", added to complete the word-by-word coverage
हविर्haviroriginal form "havir", added to complete the word-by-word coverage
ध्वाङ्क्षाdhvāṅkṣāoriginal form "dhvāṅkṣā", added to complete the word-by-word coverage
इवाध्वरात्ivādhvarātoriginal form "ivādhvarāt", added to complete the word-by-word coverage
Translation
"And this your defenseless girl, scorning me, the unworthy will seek after, as the unworthy seek Vedic knowledge. And if I do not give her away, filled as she is with your virtues, they will crush everything and carry her off, as crows carry off the oblation from a rite."
Version
af58dd6e7dc1 · published Jul 12, 2026, 5:09:57 PM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
Here the wife fears the defilement of the pure by the unworthy. Telling is the comparison of the abduction of the daughter to the plundering of the sacrificial oblation by crows: a sanctity left unguarded is plundered by the impious; the pure requires shielding from the coarse. The words about the "unworthy" (anarha) point not to lowness of birth as such, but to a lack of qualities and readiness (adhikara): only the purified may approach the holy, as only the initiated may approach the sacrifice. Thus the text reveals the anxiety that the pure not fall to the defiler; and the wife's care for her daughter is care for the preservation of what is sacred — that the child be given to one worthy, not seized by the greedy.