Mahabharata · 7.49.21
॥
Devanāgarī
न मे जयः प्रीतिकरो न राज्यं; न चामरत्वं न सुरैः सलोकता ॥
इमं समीक्ष्याप्रतिवीर्यपौरुषं; निपातितं देववरात्मजात्मजम् ॥
Transliteration (IAST)
na me jayaḥ prītikaro na rājyaṃ; na cāmaratvaṃ na suraiḥ salokatā ||
imaṃ samīkṣyāprativīryapauruṣaṃ; nipātitaṃ devavarātmajātmajam ||
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
न मे जयः प्रीतिकरःna me jayaḥ prītikaraḥvictory does not gladden me; victory is not dear to me
न राज्यम्na rājyamnor kingdom; nor kingdom
न च अमरत्वम्na ca amaratvamnor immortality; nor immortality
न सुरैः सलोकताna suraiḥ salokatānor a shared world with the gods [dwelling together with the gods]; nor a world one with the gods
इमम् समीक्ष्यimam samīkṣyaseeing this one; beholding this one
अप्रतिवीर्यपौरुषम्aprativīryapauruṣamof unmatched might and valor; unrivaled in strength and prowess
निपातितम्nipātitamfallen [struck down]; slain
देववरात्मजात्मजम्devavarātmajātmajamthe son of the son of the best of gods [grandson of Indra]; the grandson of the foremost of gods
Translation
"Victory is not dear to me, nor kingdom, nor immortality, nor a world one with the gods — when I see this one, unrivaled in strength and prowess, slain: the grandson of the foremost of gods."
Version
17fb740e4054 · published Jul 19, 2026, 3:30:04 PM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The chapter closes with renunciation: the king rejects everything for whose sake the war is waged — "na jayaḥ… na rājyam… na amaratvam… na suraiḥ salokatā". Victory, kingdom, immortality, the heaven of the gods — all rendered meaningless by a single death. "Devavara-ātmaja-ātmajam", "grandson of the foremost of gods" (of Indra, through Arjuna), traces the boy's lineage up to heaven with its final word, so that his fall resounds as the fall of heaven itself. Here a truth reveals itself, dearer than any triumph: a goal bought with the death of the pure loses its worth in the eyes of the righteous. The verse teaches that love judges victory more sternly than victory itself judges the enemy.