Shloka 37
उद्योगपर्व (अध्याय १२९) — केशवस्य वैभवप्रदर्शनम् / Krishna’s Theophanic Display in the Kuru Assembly
यो न शक्यो बलात् कर्तु देवैरपि सवासवै: । त॑ त्वं प्रार्थयसे मन्द बालबश्रन्द्रमसं यथा
yo na śakyo balāt kartuṁ devair api savāsavaiḥ | taṁ tvaṁ prārthayase manda bālaś candramasaṁ yathā |
Vaiśaṃpāyana sprach: „Du Tor! Den, den selbst die Götter—Indra eingeschlossen—nicht mit Gewalt bezwingen können, den willst du ergreifen und fesseln. Dein Vorhaben ist so vergeblich wie der Versuch eines Kindes, den Mond zu fangen.“
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse condemns reckless arrogance: attempting to overpower what is inherently unconquerable is not courage but delusion. Ethical strength includes recognizing limits, heeding wise counsel, and avoiding actions driven by pride that lead to ruin.
In the Udyoga Parva’s pre-war deliberations, Vaiśaṃpāyana narrates a sharp rebuke: the addressee is warned that trying to capture or subjugate certain formidable persons is impossible—even the gods with Indra cannot do it—so the plan is compared to a child trying to seize the moon.