Mahabharata · 7.1.22–23
॥
Devanāgarī
मोहात् तव सपुत्रस्य वधाच् छांतनवस्य च ॥
कौरव्या मृत्युसाद् भूताः सहिताः सर्वराजभिः ॥
अजावय इवागोपा वने श्वापदसंकुले ॥
भृशम् उद्विग्नमनसो हीना देवव्रतेन ते ॥
Transliteration (IAST)
mohāt tava saputrasya vadhāc chāṃtanavasya ca ||
kauravyā mṛtyusād bhūtāḥ sahitāḥ sarvarājabhiḥ ||
ajāvaya ivāgopā vane śvāpadasaṃkule ||
bhṛśam udvignamanaso hīnā devavratena te ||
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
मोहात्mohātout of delusion; through folly
तवtavayour; of yours
सपुत्रस्यsaputrasya[you] together with your son; with [your] son
वधात्vadhātbecause of the slaying; from the death
शांतनवस्यśāṃtanavasyaof the son of Shantanu [Bhishma]; of Shantanava
चcaand; also
कौरव्याःkauravyāḥthe Kauravas; [the warriors] of the Kuru line
मृत्युसात्mṛtyusātinto the power of death; [given over] to death
भूताःbhūtāḥhaving become; having turned
सहिताःsahitāḥtogether; joined
सर्वराजभिःsarvarājabhiḥwith all the kings; with [the allied] lords
अजावयःajāvayaḥgoats and sheep; small livestock
इवivalike; as
अगोपाःagopāḥwithout a herdsman; bereft of a shepherd
वनेvanein the forest; in the thicket
श्वापदसंकुलेśvāpadasaṃkuleswarming with predatory beasts; full of wild animals
भृशम्bhṛśamgreatly; exceedingly
उद्विग्नमनसःudvignamanasaḥwith troubled minds; [those] whose hearts were in turmoil
हीनाःhīnāḥbereft; deprived
देवव्रतेनdevavratenaof Devavrata [Bhishma]; [without] Devavrata
तेtethey; those [warriors]
Translation
Through the delusion of you and your son, and because of the slaying of the son of Shantanu [Bhishma], the Kauravas, together with all the [allied] kings, fell into the power of death. Like goats and sheep without a herdsman in a forest swarming with predatory beasts, they, bereft of Devavrata, were greatly troubled at heart.
Version
07ba4a0a6a6c · published Jul 19, 2026, 2:46:26 PM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
Sanjaya names the cause of the disaster directly — "your delusion and your son's": not an impersonal fate, but the blind king's sanction of wrong and Duryodhana's greed that delivered the army to death. The image of sheep without a shepherd in a forest full of predators lays bare what held the army together — not dharma, not each man's own valor, but Bhishma alone; the shepherd fell, and the flock is defenseless. The verse teaches that a leader in whom all support is concentrated leaves behind not strength but emptiness, if the people are not established in truth; and that a calamity attributed to "fate" in fact has a name and a culprit — the blindness of those who could have averted it.