Mahabharata · 7.8.31–32
॥
Devanāgarī
यस्य कर्मानुजीवन्ति लोके सर्वधनुर्भृतः ॥
स सत्यसंधः सुकृती श्रीकामैर् निहतः कथम् ॥
दिवि शक्र इव श्रेष्ठो महासत्त्वो महाबलः ॥
स कथं निहतः पार्थैः क्षुद्रमत्स्यैर् यथा तिमिः ॥
Transliteration (IAST)
yasya karmānujīvanti loke sarvadhanurbhṛtaḥ ||
sa satyasaṃdhaḥ sukṛtī śrīkāmair nihataḥ katham ||
divi śakra iva śreṣṭho mahāsattvo mahābalaḥ ||
sa kathaṃ nihataḥ pārthaiḥ kṣudramatsyair yathā timiḥ ||
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
यस्यyasyawhose; the one whose
कर्मkarmadeed [skill]; labor
अनुजीवन्तिanujīvantilive [subsist]; exist
लोकेlokein the world; in this world
सर्वधनुर्भृतःsarvadhanurbhṛtaḥall bowmen; all who bear the bow
सःsaḥhe [Drona]; that one
सत्यसंधःsatyasaṃdhaḥtrue to his vow; true in his word
सुकृतीsukṛtīvirtuous [righteous]; doer of good
श्रीकामैःśrīkāmaiḥby those craving wealth [a kingdom]; by those greedy for power
निहतःnihataḥslain; killed
कथम्kathamhow?; in what way?
दिविdiviin heaven; in the skies
शक्रःśakraḥShakra [Indra]; like Indra
इवivalike; as
श्रेष्ठःśreṣṭhaḥthe most excellent; the very foremost
महासत्त्वःmahāsattvaḥof great valor [spirit]; of great courage
महाबलःmahābalaḥof great strength; mighty
सःsaḥhe [Drona]; that one
कथम्kathamhow?; in what way?
निहतःnihataḥslain; killed
पार्थैःpārthaiḥby the Parthas [the Pandavas]; by the sons of Pritha
क्षुद्रमत्स्यैःkṣudramatsyaiḥby small fish; by insignificant fish
यथाyathāas; like
तिमिःtimiḥthe great fish timi [a whale-like sea monster]; the sea giant timi
Translation
He by whose deed all bowmen in the world live, true to his vow, righteous — how was he slain by those craving power? Like Indra in the heavens — the most excellent, of great valor, mighty — how was he slain by the Parthas [the Pandavas], as the great sea-monster timi [is slain] by small fish?
Version
d764f0554f6d · published Jul 19, 2026, 2:46:26 PM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The image of a whale devoured by small fish expresses the full bewilderment of grief: how did those small before him overcome the greatest of all? But in the word "craving power" (śrīkāmaiḥ) condemnation again bursts forth — the king calls his enemies greedy, forgetting that he himself fought for what was wrongly seized. So grief alternates between glimpsing its own guilt and returning to its habitual blame of others. The verse teaches that greatness of bodily strength does not save one before a concerted multitude, as a whale before a shoal; that accusing enemies of greed, from the mouth of one who began an unjust war, is blindness of heart; and that true grief should lead not to new reproaches but to recognition of the real root of the calamity.