महाभारतः mahābhārataḥ - book-8, chapter-49, verse-32

किमाश्चर्यं पुनर्मूढो धर्मकामोऽप्यपण्डितः ।
सुमहत्प्राप्नुयात्पापमापगामिव कौशिकः ॥३२॥

32. kimāścaryaṁ punarmūḍho dharmakāmo'pyapaṇḍitaḥ ,
sumahatprāpnuyātpāpamāpagāmiva kauśikaḥ.

32. kim āścaryam punaḥ mūḍhaḥ dharma-kāmaḥ api apaṇḍitaḥ
sumahat prāpnuyāt pāpam āpagām iva kauśikaḥ

32. punaḥ kim āścaryam mūḍhaḥ dharma-kāmaḥ api apaṇḍitaḥ
sumahat pāpam prāpnuyāt kauśikaḥ āpagām iva

32. What an astonishing thing it is, then, that even a foolish and unlearned person, though desiring to uphold natural law (dharma), may incur immense sin, just as Kauśika did (incurring sin vast as a river).

Words meanings summery:

• किम् (kim) - what, how, why

• आश्चर्यम् (āścaryam) - wonder, surprise, astonishment

• पुनः (punaḥ) - here implying 'conversely' or 'on the other hand' (again, moreover, but, on the other hand)

• मूढः (mūḍhaḥ) - foolish, ignorant person, bewildered

• धर्म-कामः (dharma-kāmaḥ) - desirous of dharma, wishing for righteousness

• अपि (api) - even, also, too

• अपण्डितः (apaṇḍitaḥ) - unlearned, ignorant, unskilled

• सुमहत् (sumahat) - very great, enormous

• प्राप्नुयात् (prāpnuyāt) - may obtain, might achieve, should gain

• पापम् (pāpam) - sin, evil, wickedness

• आपगाम् (āpagām) - used figuratively to indicate vastness, like a great river (to a river, river)

• इव (iva) - like, as, as if

• कौशिकः (kauśikaḥ) - The specific sage Kauśika, who, despite good intentions, incurred great sin by speaking truth that led to harm. (Kauśika (proper noun, name of a sage))

Words meanings and morphology

किम् (kim) - what, how, why

(pronoun)

Nominative, neuter, singular of kim

kim - what, which, why, how (interrogative pronoun/adverb)

आश्चर्यम् (āścaryam) - wonder, surprise, astonishment

(noun)

Nominative, neuter, singular of āścarya

āścarya - wonder, surprise, astonishment, marvelous

पुनः (punaḥ) - here implying 'conversely' or 'on the other hand' (again, moreover, but, on the other hand)

(indeclinable)

मूढः (mūḍhaḥ) - foolish, ignorant person, bewildered

(adjective)

Nominative, masculine, singular of mūḍha

mūḍha - foolish, stupid, ignorant, bewildered, infatuated

Past Passive Participle

Derived from root muh (to be bewildered)

Root: muh (class 4)

धर्म-कामः (dharma-kāmaḥ) - desirous of dharma, wishing for righteousness

(adjective)

Nominative, masculine, singular of dharma-kāma

dharma-kāma - desirous of (dharma) intrinsic nature/righteousness

Compound type : tatpuruṣa (dharma+kāma)

• dharma – righteousness, duty, law, intrinsic nature (dharma)
  noun (masculine)
  Root: dhṛ (class 1)
• kāma – desire, wish
  noun (masculine)
  Root: kam (class 1)

अपि (api) - even, also, too

(indeclinable)

अपण्डितः (apaṇḍitaḥ) - unlearned, ignorant, unskilled

(adjective)

Nominative, masculine, singular of apaṇḍita

apaṇḍita - unlearned, ignorant, unskilled, unscholarly

Compound type : bahuvrīhi (a+paṇḍita)

• a – not, non-
  indeclinable
• paṇḍita – learned, scholar, wise man
  adjective (masculine)

सुमहत् (sumahat) - very great, enormous

(adjective)

Accusative, neuter, singular of sumahat

sumahat - very great, immense, enormous

Compound type : karmadhāraya (su+mahat)

• su – good, well, very, excellent
  indeclinable
• mahat – great, large, vast
  adjective (neuter)

प्राप्नुयात् (prāpnuyāt) - may obtain, might achieve, should gain

(verb)

3rd person , singular, active, optative (vidhi-liṅ) of āp

Optative Mood

3rd person singular active optative of √āp (class 5) with prefix pra

Prefix: pra

Root: āp (class 5)

पापम् (pāpam) - sin, evil, wickedness

(noun)

Accusative, neuter, singular of pāpa

pāpa - evil, bad, wicked, sinful; sin, vice, wickedness

आपगाम् (āpagām) - used figuratively to indicate vastness, like a great river (to a river, river)

(noun)

Accusative, feminine, singular of āpagā

āpagā - a river, stream

Root: gam (class 1)

इव (iva) - like, as, as if

(indeclinable)

कौशिकः (kauśikaḥ) - The specific sage Kauśika, who, despite good intentions, incurred great sin by speaking truth that led to harm. (Kauśika (proper noun, name of a sage))

(proper noun)

Nominative, masculine, singular of kauśika

kauśika - descendant of Kuśika; name of a sage, typically associated with the story of incurring sin for speaking truth that caused harm; an owl