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Mahabharata · 7.50.46–47
॥
Арджуна
Devanāgarī
स नूनं बहुभिर् यत्तैर् युध्यमानो नरर्षभैः ॥
असहायः सहायार्थी माम् अनुध्यातवान् ध्रुवम् ॥
पीड्यमानः शरैर् बालस् तात साध्व् अभिधाव माम् ॥
इति विप्रलपन् मन्ये नृशंसैर् बहुभिर् हतः ॥
Transliteration (IAST)
sa nūnaṃ bahubhir yattair yudhyamāno nararṣabhaiḥ ||
asahāyaḥ sahāyārthī mām anudhyātavān dhruvam ||
pīḍyamānaḥ śarair bālas tāta sādhv abhidhāva mām ||
iti vipralapan manye nṛśaṃsair bahubhir hataḥ ||
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
सः नूनम्saḥ nūnamhe, surely; he, surely
बहुभिः यत्तैःbahubhiḥ yattaiḥby many, acting in concert [joining their efforts]; by many, together
युध्यमानः नरर्षभैःyudhyamānaḥ nararṣabhaiḥfought by bulls among men; beset by warriors
असहायःasahāyaḥwithout a helper [alone]; alone
सहायार्थीsahāyārthīseeking help; longing for aid
माम् अनुध्यातवान् ध्रुवम्mām anudhyātavān dhruvamthought of me, surely; surely thought of me
पीड्यमानः शरैःpīḍyamānaḥ śaraiḥafflicted by arrows; tormented by arrows
बालःbālaḥchild [boy]; child
तातtātafather [dear father]; father
साधु अभिधाव माम्sādhu abhidhāva māmhasten quickly to me [to my aid]; come, save me
इति विप्रलपन्iti vipralapanthus lamenting [crying out]; thus crying out
मन्येmanyeI think [I suppose]; I suppose
नृशंसैः बहुभिः हतःnṛśaṃsaiḥ bahubhiḥ hataḥslain by many cruel ones [inhuman ones]; slain by a host of monsters
Translation
"He, surely, beset by many warriors together, alone, longing for aid, thought of me without doubt. 'Afflicted by arrows, child that I am — father, come, save me!' — thus crying out, I suppose, he was slain by a host of monsters."
Version
b282d84317ee · published Jul 19, 2026, 3:30:04 PM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The imagined cry of the son — "tāta sādhu abhidhāva mām," "father, come, save me!" — is the most unbearable part of the lament: the father hears a plea he did not manage to answer. "Asahāyaḥ sahāyārthī," "alone, seeking help," lays bare the essence of the crime: the boy's abandonment among "nṛśaṃsaiḥ bahubhiḥ," many monsters. It is telling that what tortures the father is not the fact of death itself, but the thought of a helpless cry into emptiness. The verse teaches that what wounds most sharply is not the loss itself, but the imagined loneliness of the beloved in his final hour.