Mahabharata · 2.25.12–13
॥
Devanāgarī
प्रविष्टश् चापि कौन्तेय नेह द्रक्ष्यसि किं चन ॥
न हि मानुषदेहेन शक्यम् अत्राभिवीक्षितुम् ॥
अथेह पुरुषव्याघ्र किं चिद् अन्यच् चिकीर्षसि ॥
तद् ब्रवीहि करिष्यामो वचनात् तव भारत ॥
Transliteration (IAST)
praviṣṭaś cāpi kaunteya neha drakṣyasi kiṃ cana ||
na hi mānuṣadehena śakyam atrābhivīkṣitum ||
atheha puruṣavyāghra kiṃ cid anyac cikīrṣasi ||
tad bravīhi kariṣyāmo vacanāt tava bhārata ||
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
प्रविष्टश् च अपि कौन्तेयpraviṣṭaś ca api kaunteya"And even having entered, Kaunteya,
न इह द्रक्ष्यसि किं चनna iha drakṣyasi kiṃ canayou will see nothing here;
न हि मानुष-देहेनna hi mānuṣa-dehenafor with a human body
शक्यम् अत्र अभिवीक्षितुम्śakyam atra abhivīkṣitumnothing can be perceived here;
अथ इह पुरुष-व्याघ्रatha iha puruṣa-vyāghrabut if here, o tiger among men,
किं चिद् अन्यच् चिकीर्षसिkiṃ cid anyac cikīrṣasiyou wish to accomplish something else,
तद् ब्रवीहि करिष्यामोtad bravīhi kariṣyāmothen speak — we shall do it
वचनात् तव भारतvacanāt tava bhārataat your word, o Bharata."
चापिcāpioriginal form "cāpi", added to complete the word-by-word coverage
नेहnehaoriginal form "neha", added to complete the word-by-word coverage
मानुषदेहेनmānuṣadehenaoriginal form "mānuṣadehena", added to complete the word-by-word coverage
अत्राभिवीक्षितुम्atrābhivīkṣitumoriginal form "atrābhivīkṣitum", added to complete the word-by-word coverage
अथेहathehaoriginal form "atheha", added to complete the word-by-word coverage
पुरुषव्याघ्रpuruṣavyāghraoriginal form "puruṣavyāghra", added to complete the word-by-word coverage
Translation
"And even having entered, Kaunteya, you will see nothing here; for with a human body nothing can be perceived here. But if here, o tiger among men, you wish to accomplish something else, then say so — we shall do it at your word, o Bharata."
Version
fd5d55ab715e · published Jul 16, 2026, 3:28:50 PM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
"With a human body nothing can be perceived here" — a statement that carries us beyond conquest altogether: certain regions of being are closed not to weapons but to fleshly sight itself. It is significant that this inaccessibility lies not in the guards' hostility but in the nature of things: the higher does not disclose itself to a coarse eye. The verse teaches that what leads to the highest is not force or persistence but a different sight, a different body; and as long as a person is clothed only in flesh, there remains a visible reality that stays invisible to him. The wise do not force their way where what is needed is not a sword but transformation.