Mahabharata · 7.1.48–49
॥
Devanāgarī
अपि तत् पूरयां चक्रे धनुर्धरवरो युधि ॥
यत् तद् विनिहते भीष्मे कौरवाणाम् अपावृतम् ॥
तत् खण्डं पूरयाम् आस परेषाम् आदधद् भयम् ॥
कृतवान् मम पुत्राणां जयाशां सफलाम् अपि ॥
Transliteration (IAST)
api tat pūrayāṃ cakre dhanurdharavaro yudhi ||
yat tad vinihate bhīṣme kauravāṇām apāvṛtam ||
tat khaṇḍaṃ pūrayām āsa pareṣām ādadhad bhayam ||
kṛtavān mama putrāṇāṃ jayāśāṃ saphalām api ||
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
अपिapiindeed; [question particle]
तत्tatthat; this
पूरयाम्pūrayāmfilled; made whole
चक्रेcakre[auxiliary verb: did]; accomplished
धनुर्धरवरःdhanurdharavaraḥthe best of archers; the foremost bowman
युधिyudhiin battle; in combat
यत्yatwhich [that which]; what
तत्tatthat; this
विनिहतेvinihatewhen was slain; upon the death
भीष्मेbhīṣmeBhishma; [of] Bhishma
कौरवाणाम्kauravāṇāmamong the Kauravas; [in the ranks] of the Kauravas
अपावृतम्apāvṛtamlaid open [bared]; as a breach [a gap that had formed]
तत्tatthat; this
खण्डम्khaṇḍambreach; gap
पूरयाम्pūrayāmfilled; made whole
आसāsa[auxiliary verb: did]; accomplished
परेषाम्pareṣāmin the enemies; to the foes
आदधत्ādadhatinstilling; inspiring
भयम्bhayamfear; terror
कृतवान्kṛtavāndid he make; did he turn
ममmamamy; mine
पुत्राणाम्putrāṇāmof my sons; of [my] sons
जयाशाम्jayāśāmthe hope of victory; the expectation of victory
सफलाम्saphalāmfruitful; fulfilled
अपिapiindeed; [question particle]
Translation
"Did the best of archers fill, in battle, that which — when Bhishma was slain — lay open as a breach among the Kauravas? Did he fill that breach, instilling fear in the enemies? Did he make the hope of my sons for victory fruitful?"
Version
52a0f93343e3 · published Jul 19, 2026, 2:46:26 PM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
Three times the blind king asks the same thing — 'did he fill, did he close, did he make fruitful' — and in this insistent return to the 'hope of his sons for victory' he stands revealed entirely: it is not the truth, not the fallen grandsire, that pains his heart, but only whether his unrighteous expectation will come to pass. The image of the 'breach' opened by Bhishma's fall is exact: a single death broke through the whole formation — for the formation held not on dharma but on one man. The verse teaches that trust placed in a mortal leaves behind a gap that no new mortal can fill; and that a heart fixed on victory at any cost is blind to the one thing that could save it — a return to the path of truth.