Shloka 22
अगस्त्य-वातापि-उपाख्यानम्
Agastya and Vātāpi: Ilvala’s stratagem; Lopāmudrā’s emergence
देवर्षयश्न कार्त्स्न्येन तथा त्वमपि वेत्स्यसि । धार्रराष्ट्रास्त्वर्मेण मोहेन च वशीकृता: । न चिराद् वै विनड्क्ष्यन्ति दैत्या इव न संशय:
devarṣayaś ca kārtsnyena tathā tvam api vetsyasi | dhārtarāṣṭrās tv adharmeṇa mohena ca vaśīkṛtāḥ | na cirād vai vinaṅkṣyanti daityā iva na saṁśayaḥ ||
«Die göttlichen Seher (devarṣi) wissen dies in seiner Gänze, und auch du wirst es vollständig erkennen. Die Söhne Dhṛtarāṣṭras, von Unrecht (adharma) und Verblendung bezwungen, werden nicht lange bestehen: bald werden sie zugrunde gehen, wie die Daityas — daran ist kein Zweifel.»
लोगश उवाच
Educational Q&A
Adharma coupled with moha (delusion) inevitably leads to ruin. The verse frames moral collapse as a force that enslaves the mind and brings swift destruction, just as the Daityas are traditionally portrayed as falling when they oppose cosmic order.
The speaker issues a confident prediction: the Dhārtarāṣṭras (Kauravas), already dominated by unrighteous conduct and delusion, will soon be destroyed. The statement is reinforced by invoking the authority of the devarṣis and by comparing the Kauravas’ fate to that of the Daityas.