Shloka 9
Ādi Parva, Adhyāya 178 — Royal Contestants Assemble; Cosmic Witnesses; The Bow Remains Unstrung
स एवमुक्तो दु:खार्त: सत्यवागृषिसत्तम: । सर्वलोकविनाशाय मतिं चक्रे महामना:,माताके यों कहनेपर सत्यवादी मुनिश्रेष्ठ महामना पराशर दुःखसे आतुर हो उठे। उन्होंने उसी समय सब लोकोंको नष्ट कर डालनेका विचार किया
sa evam ukto duḥkhārtaḥ satyavāg ṛṣisattamaḥ | sarvalokavināśāya matiṁ cakre mahāmanāḥ ||
فلما خوطب بذلك، غمر الحزنُ أشرفَ الحكماء، الصادقَ اللسان. وفي تلك اللوعة عقد ذو النفس العظيمة عزمه على إفناء العوالم كلها.
गन्धर्व उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical danger of grief-driven resolve: even a truth-speaking, exemplary sage can be pushed by intense sorrow toward destructive intentions, implying the need for restraint and restoration of inner balance to protect dharma and the world.
After being spoken to in a painful context, the foremost sage becomes deeply distressed and, in that moment of anguish, decides upon a course aimed at the destruction of all worlds—an escalation that signals impending intervention or counsel in the surrounding narrative.