महाभारत · 1.163.16
॥
देवनागरी
तत् क्षुधार्तैर् निरानन्दैः शवभूतैस् तदा नरैः ॥
अभवत् प्रेतराजस्य पुरं प्रेतैर् इवावृतम् ॥
लिप्यंतरण (IAST)
tat kṣudhārtair nirānandaiḥ śavabhūtais tadā naraiḥ ||
abhavat pretarājasya puraṃ pretair ivāvṛtam ||
शब्दशः अर्थ
संस्कृतIASTअर्थ
तत् क्षुधार्तैः निरानन्दैः शवभूतैः तदा नरैःtat kṣudhārtaiḥ nirānandaiḥ śavabhūtaiḥ tadā naraiḥthen [the city,] with its people tormented by hunger, joyless, [like] corpses,
अभवत् प्रेतराजस्य पुरं प्रेतैः इव आवृतम्abhavat pretarājasya puraṃ pretaiḥ iva āvṛtambecame like the city of the king of the dead [Yama], as though filled with pretas [ghosts];
क्षुधार्तैर्kṣudhārtairoriginal form "kṣudhārtair", added to complete the word-by-word coverage
शवभूतैस्śavabhūtaisoriginal form "śavabhūtais", added to complete the word-by-word coverage
प्रेतैर्pretairoriginal form "pretair", added to complete the word-by-word coverage
इवावृतम्ivāvṛtamoriginal form "ivāvṛtam", added to complete the word-by-word coverage
अनुवाद
"Then the city, its people tormented by hunger, joyless as corpses, became as though filled with pretas — like the city of the king of the dead."
संस्करण
3c1c47135726 · प्रकाशित 12 जुल॰ 2026, 5:29:43 pm UTC
उपलब्ध भाषाएँRUENश्लोक बदलें इन कुंजियों से
Here the fruit of neglect is shown — a city turned into an abode of death. The comparison is telling: a once-flourishing capital is likened to the city of Yama, full of ghosts; the king's forgetting of his duty turned the living into the semblance of the dead. Here it is seen how grievously the people suffer for the fault of the ruler: the sin or negligence of a lord falls as calamity upon his subjects. Thus the scripture shows the horror of desolation born from the king's withdrawal; and the suffering of the innocent cries out for the return of the one entrusted with their protection.