Mahabharata — Mausala Parva, Shloka 26
अध्याय १: उत्पात-दर्शनम् तथा वृष्णि-विनाश-श्रवणम्
Omens Observed and the Hearing of the Vṛṣṇi Destruction
येन वृष्ण्यन्धककुले पुरुषा भस्मसात् कृता: । वृष्ण्यन्धकविनाशाय किंकरप्रतिमं महत्
yena vṛṣṇyandhakakule puruṣā bhasmasāt kṛtāḥ | vṛṣṇyandhakavināśāya kiṅkarapratimaṃ mahat |
That very club was what reduced the men of the Vṛṣṇi and Andhaka line to ashes. Brought forth for the destruction of the Vṛṣṇis and Andhakas, it was a mighty thing, like a servant of Yama himself.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames the clan’s annihilation as more than a brawl: the mūsala functions like Yama’s agent, suggesting that when collective conduct degenerates, destruction can manifest as an impersonal, karmic inevitability rather than a merely personal victory or defeat.
Vaiśampāyana identifies the mūsala (club) as the instrument that reduced the Vṛṣṇi-Andhaka men to ashes, emphasizing its fearsome, death-dealing role—‘like Yama’s messenger’—in bringing about the collapse of the clan.
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