Shloka 21
अलर्कोपाख्यानम् — Indriya-Nigraha and Yogic Victory
Mahābhārata 14.30
अलर्क उवाच दृष्टवा रूपाणि बहुशस्तानेव प्रतिगृध्यति । तस्माच्चक्षुर्हनिष्यामि निशितै: सायकैरहम्,अलर्क बोले--यह आँख भी अनेकों बार विभिन्न रूपोंका दर्शन करके पुन: उन्हींको देखना चाहती है। अतः मैं इसे अपने तीखे तीरोंसे मार डालूँगा
alarka uvāca dṛṣṭvā rūpāṇi bahuśas tāneva pratigṛdhyati | tasmāc cakṣur haniṣyāmi niśitaiḥ sāyakair aham ||
قال ألركا: «وكذلك العين؛ فما إن ترى الصور مرارًا حتى تظل تتوق إلى رؤية تلك الأشياء نفسها من جديد. لذلك سأُهلك هذه العين بسهامي الحادة.»
अलर्क उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights indriya-nigraha (restraint of the senses): repeated seeing fuels renewed craving, so one must curb the sense-faculty that drives attachment. Alarka’s extreme resolve dramatizes the ethical point that unchecked perception can become a gateway to greed and bondage.
Alarka reflects on how the eye, after repeatedly viewing attractive objects, continues to long for them. In a radical act of renunciation, he declares he will destroy his own eye with sharp arrows to end the cycle of seeing and craving.