Mahabharata · 1.173.16–17
॥
Devanāgarī
ततः सा शोकसंतप्ता भर्तृव्यसनदुःखिता ॥
कल्माषपादं राजर्षिम् अशपद् ब्राह्मणी रुषा ॥
यस्मान् ममाकृतार्थायास् त्वया क्षुद्र नृशंसवत् ॥
प्रेक्षन्त्या भक्षितो मे ऽद्य प्रभुर् भर्ता महायशाः ॥
Transliteration (IAST)
tataḥ sā śokasaṃtaptā bhartṛvyasanaduḥkhitā ||
kalmāṣapādaṃ rājarṣim aśapad brāhmaṇī ruṣā ||
yasmān mamākṛtārthāyās tvayā kṣudra nṛśaṃsavat ||
prekṣantyā bhakṣito me 'dya prabhur bhartā mahāyaśāḥ ||
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
ततः सा शोकसंतप्ता भर्तृव्यसनदुःखिताtataḥ sā śokasaṃtaptā bhartṛvyasanaduḥkhitāthen she, scorched by grief, distressed by her husband's calamity,
कल्माषपादं राजर्षिम् अशपत् ब्राह्मणी रुषाkalmāṣapādaṃ rājarṣim aśapat brāhmaṇī ruṣācursed Kalmashapada, the royal sage, the brahmin woman, in fury:
यस्मात् मम अकृतार्थायाः त्वया क्षुद्र नृशंसवत्yasmāt mama akṛtārthāyāḥ tvayā kṣudra nṛśaṃsavat'since, my purpose unfulfilled, by you, O base one, heartlessly,
प्रेक्षन्त्याः भक्षितः मे अद्य प्रभुः भर्ता महायशाःprekṣantyāḥ bhakṣitaḥ me adya prabhuḥ bhartā mahāyaśāḥbefore my eyes my lord and husband, of great renown, has now been devoured, --
अशपद्aśapadoriginal form "aśapad", added to complete the word-by-word coverage
यस्मान्yasmānoriginal form "yasmān", added to complete the word-by-word coverage
ममाकृतार्थायास्mamākṛtārthāyāsoriginal form "mamākṛtārthāyās", added to complete the word-by-word coverage
प्रेक्षन्त्याprekṣantyāoriginal form "prekṣantyā", added to complete the word-by-word coverage
भक्षितोbhakṣitooriginal form "bhakṣito", added to complete the word-by-word coverage
ऽद्य'dyaoriginal form "'dya", added to complete the word-by-word coverage
प्रभुर्prabhuroriginal form "prabhur", added to complete the word-by-word coverage
Translation
'Then she, scorched by grief, distressed by her husband's calamity, cursed Kalmashapada, the royal sage, the brahmin woman, in fury: "Since, my purpose unfulfilled, before my eyes, you, O base one, have heartlessly devoured now my lord and husband, of great renown, --"'
Version
5225c4b5ab03 · published Jul 12, 2026, 5:37:22 PM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
Here the wife's grief pours out into a curse. It is telling that she who pleaded for mercy now, having lost her husband, curses: trampled love turns into a storm. It is seen from this how dangerous is the wounding of the defenseless: a rejected plea gives birth to a punishment more terrible than any weapon. Thus scripture shows that the suffering of the innocent, left unheeded, turns into a curse; and the king, deaf to tears, brings down retribution upon himself out of the very blood he has spilled.