Shloka 118
Atithi-satkāra and the Consolation of Wise Counsel (अतिथिसत्कारः प्रज्ञानवचनस्य च पराश्वासनम्)
श्रीभगवानुवाच तयो: संलग्नयोर्युद्धे रुद्रनारायणात्मनो:
śrībhagavān uvāca | tayoḥ saṃlagnayor yuddhe rudra-nārāyaṇātmanoḥ, sarvalokeṣu sarvabhūtāni sahasodvignāny abhavan | agnir devo yajñeṣu vidhivat hutānāṃ viśuddha-haviṣāṃ grahaṇaṃ na śaśāka |
Der Erhabene sprach: „Arjuna, als Rudra und Nārāyaṇa — jeder die göttliche Macht des anderen in sich tragend — im Kampf ineinander verstrickt waren, gerieten alle Wesen in allen Welten plötzlich in Schrecken. Selbst Agni vermochte in den Opfern die reinen, nach Vorschrift dargebrachten Gaben nicht mehr anzunehmen.“
अर्जुन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights that when divine powers clash, the disturbance is not merely local but cosmic: fear spreads across beings and even sacrificial order falters. Ethically, it underscores the Mahābhārata theme that violence—especially among the powerful—shakes dharma and disrupts the sustaining institutions of the world, such as yajña.
Bhagavān describes a moment when Rudra and Nārāyaṇa become fully engaged in battle. The shock of their confrontation agitates all creatures in all realms, and Agni himself becomes unable to receive the properly offered, pure sacrificial oblations—signaling a breakdown of normal cosmic-ritual functioning.