Shloka 44
कर्णनिधनवृत्तान्तनिवेदनम् | Reporting Karṇa’s Fall to Yudhiṣṭhira
साथ ही उस हिंसक पशुओंको मारनेवाले व्याधको ले जानेके लिये स्वर्गसे एक सुन्दर विमान उतर आया, जो अप्सराओंके गीतों और वाद्योंकी मधुर ध्वनिसे मुखरित होनेके कारण बड़ा मनोरम जान पड़ता था ।।
tad bhūtaṁ sarvabhūtānām abhāvāya kilārjuna | tapas taptvā varaṁ prāptaṁ kṛtamandhaṁ svayambhuvā ||
Vāyu sprach: „O Arjuna, man sagt, dieses Wesen habe in einem früheren Leben Askese geübt und einen Segen erlangt, der auf die Vernichtung aller Lebewesen zielte. Darum machte Svayambhū (Brahmā), um jene gefährliche Macht zu zügeln, es blind.“
वायुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
Austerity and spiritual power (tapas) can yield formidable boons, but intent matters: a boon sought for universal destruction is ethically dangerous. The verse highlights the safeguarding role of cosmic authority (Brahmā/Svayambhū), who limits such destructive capacity—here by imposing blindness—so that power does not overturn dharma and the welfare of beings.
Vāyudeva addresses Arjuna and explains a tradition about a certain being: it is said to have gained, through past-life austerities, a boon oriented toward the annihilation of all creatures. To prevent that outcome, Brahmā is said to have made the being blind, curbing its ability to carry out widespread harm.