Mahabharata · 1.166.35–36
॥
Devanāgarī
यस्माद् असदृशः शापः प्रयुक्तो ऽयं त्वया मयि ॥
तस्मात् त्वत्तः प्रवर्तिष्ये खादितुं मानुषान् अहम् ॥
एवम् उक्त्वा ततः सद्यस् तं प्राणैर् विप्रयुज्य सः ॥
शक्तिनं भक्षयाम् आस व्याघ्रः पशुम् इवेप्सितम् ॥
Transliteration (IAST)
yasmād asadṛśaḥ śāpaḥ prayukto 'yaṃ tvayā mayi ||
tasmāt tvattaḥ pravartiṣye khādituṃ mānuṣān aham ||
evam uktvā tataḥ sadyas taṃ prāṇair viprayujya saḥ ||
śaktinaṃ bhakṣayām āsa vyāghraḥ paśum ivepsitam ||
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
यस्मात् असदृशः शापः प्रयुक्तः अयं त्वया मयिyasmāt asadṛśaḥ śāpaḥ prayuktaḥ ayaṃ tvayā mayi"since this disproportionate curse has been laid upon me by you,
तस्मात् त्वत्तः प्रवर्तिष्ये खादितुं मानुषान् अहम्tasmāt tvattaḥ pravartiṣye khādituṃ mānuṣān ahamtherefore, beginning with you, I shall set out to devour men";
एवम् उक्त्वा ततः सद्यः तं प्राणैः विप्रयुज्य सःevam uktvā tataḥ sadyaḥ taṃ prāṇaiḥ viprayujya saḥhaving spoken thus, he at once deprived him of life
शक्तिनं भक्षयाम् आस व्याघ्रः पशुम् इव ईप्सितम्śaktinaṃ bhakṣayām āsa vyāghraḥ paśum iva īpsitamand devoured Shakti, as a tiger — its coveted prey;
यस्माद्yasmādoriginal form "yasmād", added to complete the word-by-word coverage
प्रयुक्तोprayuktooriginal form "prayukto", added to complete the word-by-word coverage
ऽयं'yaṃoriginal form "'yaṃ", added to complete the word-by-word coverage
सद्यस्sadyasoriginal form "sadyas", added to complete the word-by-word coverage
प्राणैर्prāṇairoriginal form "prāṇair", added to complete the word-by-word coverage
इवेप्सितम्ivepsitamoriginal form "ivepsitam", added to complete the word-by-word coverage
Translation
The king said: "Since this disproportionate curse has been laid upon me by you, beginning with you I shall set out to devour men." Having spoken thus, he at once deprived him of life and devoured Shakti, as a tiger devours its coveted prey.
Version
1b605c0bdc7e · published Jul 12, 2026, 5:29:43 PM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
Here the curse turns back upon the one who uttered it. It is telling that the man-eater's first victim is Shakti, who had cursed him: the anger spoken in a curse returns upon the speaker. Herein lies a grim lesson: a hasty curse, born of anger, often destroys the avenger himself before all others; whoever sows a curse may be the first to reap it. So the scripture shows how dangerous anger is even in the saintly; and Shakti, who cursed the king, perishes by the very evil he called forth.