Mahabharata · 2.49.16–17
॥
Devanāgarī
गच्छन्ति पूर्वाद् अपरं समुद्रं चापि दक्षिणम् ॥
उत्तरं तु न गच्छन्ति विना तात पतत्रिभिः ॥
तत्र स्म दध्मुः शतशः शङ्खान् मङ्गल्यकारणात् ॥
प्राणदंस् ते समाध्मातास् तत्र रोमाणि मे ऽहृषन् ॥
Transliteration (IAST)
gacchanti pūrvād aparaṃ samudraṃ cāpi dakṣiṇam ||
uttaraṃ tu na gacchanti vinā tāta patatribhiḥ ||
tatra sma dadhmuḥ śataśaḥ śaṅkhān maṅgalyakāraṇāt ||
prāṇadaṃs te samādhmātās tatra romāṇi me 'hṛṣan ||
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
गच्छन्ति पूर्वाद् अपरंgacchanti pūrvād aparaṃ"They go to the eastern, the western
समुद्रं चापि दक्षिणम्samudraṃ cāpi dakṣiṇamsea, and to the southern;
उत्तरं तु न गच्छन्तिuttaraṃ tu na gacchantibut to the northern they do not go,
विना तात पतत्रिभिःvinā tāta patatribhiḥdear one, without winged [creatures];
तत्र स्म दध्मुः शतशःtatra sma dadhmuḥ śataśaḥthere they blew, by the hundreds,
शङ्खान् मङ्गल्य-कारणात्śaṅkhān maṅgalya-kāraṇātupon conches for the sake of blessing;
प्राणदंस् ते समाध्मातास्prāṇadaṃs te samādhmātāsonce blown, they sounded —
तत्र रोमाणि मे ऽहृषन्tatra romāṇi me 'hṛṣanand there my hair stood on end."
मङ्गल्यकारणात्maṅgalyakāraṇātoriginal form "maṅgalyakāraṇāt", added to complete the word-by-word coverage
Translation
"[The gifts] go to the eastern, western, and southern sea; but to the northern they do not go, dear one, without winged [companions]. There they blew upon conches by the hundreds for the sake of blessing; once sounded, they rang out — and then my hair stood on end."
Version
deb6ffa99b87 · published Jul 16, 2026, 3:49:22 PM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The sound of the blessed conches, delightful to every devout heart, again makes Duryodhana's hair stand on end — but from dread, not from joy. The repetition is telling: the same auspicious sound that stirs a trembling of reverence in the righteous stirs a trembling of anguish in the envious. The verse teaches that the outward sign is one, but the response in hearts is opposite: the sacred uplifts the pure and torments the impure. And Duryodhana's compulsive return to this sound betrays how deeply he is wounded: even the memory of a rival's blessing burns him. Where grace is present, hearts divide — and this division is itself a judgment, rendered before any outward verdict.