Shloka 103
अलर्कोपाख्यानम् — Indriya-Nigraha and Yogic Victory
Mahābhārata 14.30
अन्यान् बाणान् समीक्षस्व यैस्त्वं मां सूदयिष्यसि । नासिका बोली--अलर्क! ये बाण मेरा कुछ नहीं बिगाड़ सकते। इनसे तो तुम्हारे ही मर्म विदीर्ण होंगे और मर्मस्थानोंका भेदन हो जानेपर तुम्हीं मरोगे; अतः तुम दूसरे प्रकारके बाणोंका अनुसंधान करो, जिससे तुम मुझे मार सकोगे
anyān bāṇān samīkṣasva yais tvaṁ māṁ sūdayiṣyasi | nāsikā uvāca—alarka! ye bāṇā merā kucha nahīṁ bigāṛa sakate | inase to tumhāre hī marma vidīrṇa hoṅge aura marma-sthānoṁ kā bhedana ho jāne para tumhīṁ maroge; ataḥ tuma dūsare prakāra ke bāṇoṁ kā anusandhāna karo, jisase tuma mujhe māra sako ||
‘Look for other arrows—those by which you think you can slay me.’ Then the Nose said: ‘Alarka, these arrows cannot harm me at all. Rather, they will tear open your own vital points; and when your vulnerable spots are pierced, you yourself will die. Therefore, seek a different kind of weapon—one by which you could truly kill me.’
प्राण उवाच
Educational Q&A
Violence used without discernment rebounds upon the agent: weapons that cannot reach the true target end up striking one’s own ‘marmas’—one’s vulnerabilities. The verse warns that ethical action requires right means; otherwise the doer is harmed by the very attempt.
Prāṇa speaks, urging Alarka to find different arrows to kill him. The personified Nose replies that Alarka’s current arrows cannot harm her; instead they will pierce Alarka’s own vital points and cause his death, so he should seek another method if he truly intends to kill.