Mahabharata · 2.25.7–8
॥
Devanāgarī
उत्तरं हरिवर्षं तु समासाद्य स पाण्डवः ॥
इयेष जेतुं तं देशं पाकशासननन्दनः ॥
तत एनं महाकाया महावीर्या महाबलाः ॥
द्वारपालाः समासाद्य हृष्टा वचनम् अब्रुवन् ॥
Transliteration (IAST)
uttaraṃ harivarṣaṃ tu samāsādya sa pāṇḍavaḥ ||
iyeṣa jetuṃ taṃ deśaṃ pākaśāsananandanaḥ ||
tata enaṃ mahākāyā mahāvīryā mahābalāḥ ||
dvārapālāḥ samāsādya hṛṣṭā vacanam abruvan ||
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
उत्तरं हरिवर्षं तुuttaraṃ harivarṣaṃ tunorthern Harivarsha indeed
समासाद्य स पाण्डवःsamāsādya sa pāṇḍavaḥhaving reached, that Pandava,
इयेष जेतुं तं देशंiyeṣa jetuṃ taṃ deśaṃdesired to conquer that land,
पाक-शासन-नन्दनःpāka-śāsana-nandanaḥthe delight of Pakashasana;
तत एनं महा-कायाtata enaṃ mahā-kāyāthen to him, the great-bodied,
महा-वीर्या महा-बलाःmahā-vīryā mahā-balāḥof great valor, of great strength
द्वार-पालाः समासाद्यdvāra-pālāḥ samāsādyathe gatekeepers, approaching,
हृष्टा वचनम् अब्रुवन्hṛṣṭā vacanam abruvanjoyfully spoke a word:
पाकशासननन्दनःpākaśāsananandanaḥoriginal form "pākaśāsananandanaḥ", added to complete the word-by-word coverage
महाकायाmahākāyāoriginal form "mahākāyā", added to complete the word-by-word coverage
महावीर्याmahāvīryāoriginal form "mahāvīryā", added to complete the word-by-word coverage
महाबलाःmahābalāḥoriginal form "mahābalāḥ", added to complete the word-by-word coverage
द्वारपालाःdvārapālāḥoriginal form "dvārapālāḥ", added to complete the word-by-word coverage
Translation
Having reached northern Harivarsha, that Pandava, the delight of Pakashasana, desired to conquer that land. Then the great-bodied, great-valorous, great-strengthed gatekeepers approached him and joyfully spoke this word:
Version
e05d769c5ba5 · published Jul 16, 2026, 3:28:50 PM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The border guards come out to the conqueror not with menace but "joyfully" (hṛṣṭāḥ): at the threshold of the forbidden land they meet not an enemy but a guest. It is significant that formidable might — "great-bodied, great-strengthed" — is turned not toward resistance but toward kind speech. The verse prepares the central thought: there are boundaries guarded not by weapons but by the very order of the world; and one does not approach them as prey. The guards' cordiality announces that what lies ahead is not a field of battle but a realm of a different order, into which one does not intrude but which only the summoned may enter.