Mahabharata 16.8.24 — Mausala Parva, Adhyaya 8, Shloka 24
मौसलपर्व — अध्याय ८
Arjuna’s evacuation of Dvārakā, Vasudeva’s rites, and the caravan’s crisis
श्र॒ुत्वैव हि गतं विष्णुं ममापि मुमुहुर्दिश: । प्रणष्टज्ञातिवीर्यस्य शून्यस्य परिधावत:
śrutvaiva hi gataṃ viṣṇuṃ mamāpi mumuhur diśaḥ | praṇaṣṭa-jñāti-vīryasya śūnyasya paridhāvataḥ ||
Arjuna said: “Indeed, the moment I heard that Viṣṇu (Kṛṣṇa) had departed, even the very quarters seemed to reel. Bereft of the strength that comes from one’s kinsmen, I ran about in emptiness—disoriented and undone.”
अर्जुन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores impermanence and the fragility of worldly supports: when the divine guide (Kṛṣṇa) and one’s kin-based strength are gone, even a great hero experiences inner emptiness and confusion, pointing to the need for steadiness grounded beyond external supports.
Arjuna reacts to the news that Kṛṣṇa has departed from the world. He describes a cosmic-like dizziness—‘the directions reeled’—and confesses that, with the loss of his relatives and their sustaining power, he ran about in a state of desolation and bewilderment.
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