Mahabharata · 2.41.8–9
॥
Devanāgarī
दरदं स्तुहि बाह्लीकम् इमं पार्थिवसत्तमम् ॥
जायमानेन येनेयम् अभवद् दारिता मही ॥
वङ्गाङ्गविषयाध्यक्षं सहस्राक्षसमं बले ॥
स्तुहि कर्णम् इमं भीष्म महाचापविकर्षणम् ॥
Transliteration (IAST)
daradaṃ stuhi bāhlīkam imaṃ pārthivasattamam ||
jāyamānena yeneyam abhavad dāritā mahī ||
vaṅgāṅgaviṣayādhyakṣaṃ sahasrākṣasamaṃ bale ||
stuhi karṇam imaṃ bhīṣma mahācāpavikarṣaṇam ||
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
दरदं स्तुहि बाह्लीकम्daradaṃ stuhi bāhlīkam"Praise Darada Bahlika,
इमं पार्थिव-सत्तमम्imaṃ pārthiva-sattamamthis best of kings,
जायमानेन येन इयम्jāyamānena yena iyamat whose birth this
अभवद् दारिता महीabhavad dāritā mahīearth was split apart;
वङ्ग-अङ्ग-विषय-अध्यक्षंvaṅga-aṅga-viṣaya-adhyakṣaṃthe lord of the regions of Vanga and Anga,
सहस्र-अक्ष-समं बलेsahasra-akṣa-samaṃ baleequal in strength to thousand-eyed [Indra],
स्तुहि कर्णम् इमं भीष्मstuhi karṇam imaṃ bhīṣmapraise this Karna, O Bhishma,
महा-चाप-विकर्षणम्mahā-cāpa-vikarṣaṇamthe great drawer of the bow".
पार्थिवसत्तमम्pārthivasattamamoriginal form "pārthivasattamam", added to complete the word-by-word coverage
येनेयम्yeneyamoriginal form "yeneyam", added to complete the word-by-word coverage
वङ्गाङ्गविषयाध्यक्षंvaṅgāṅgaviṣayādhyakṣaṃoriginal form "vaṅgāṅgaviṣayādhyakṣaṃ", added to complete the word-by-word coverage
सहस्राक्षसमंsahasrākṣasamaṃoriginal form "sahasrākṣasamaṃ", added to complete the word-by-word coverage
महाचापविकर्षणम्mahācāpavikarṣaṇamoriginal form "mahācāpavikarṣaṇam", added to complete the word-by-word coverage
Translation
"— praise Darada Bahlika, this best of kings, at whose birth this earth split apart. Praise this Karna, O Bhishma, lord of the regions of Vanga and Anga, equal in strength to thousand-eyed [Indra], the great drawer of the bow."
Version
2fc26b3ccedf · published Jul 16, 2026, 3:49:21 PM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
Shishupala sets against Krishna the strongmen of the earth — Bahlika, Karna — as if bodily might were commensurate with the Lord's greatness. It is telling how stubbornly the worldly mind measures worth by strength of arm alone: to it, the strongest warrior, not the Lord of the worlds, seems the one deserving glorification. The verse teaches that physical greatness, however immense, is incommensurable with the divine: between the mightiest of mortals and the Supreme lies not a difference of degree but a gulf of kind. And whoever calls for an archer to be glorified in place of God betrays that he cannot tell created power from uncreated — to him, heaven is merely higher than a mountain, whereas it is of an entirely different nature.