Shloka 141
Atithi-satkāra and the Consolation of Wise Counsel (अतिथिसत्कारः प्रज्ञानवचनस्य च पराश्वासनम्)
मुझसे सुरक्षित होकर तुमने महाभारत युद्धमें महान् विजय प्राप्त की है। कुन्तीनन्दन! युद्ध उपस्थित होनेपर जो पुरुष तुम्हारे आगे-आगे चलते थे, उन्हें तुम जटाजूटधारी देवाधिदेव रुद्र समझो। उन्हींको मैंने तुमसे क्रोधद्वारा उत्पन्न बताया है। वे ही काल कहे गये हैं ।।
nihatās tena vai pūrvaṁ hatavān asi yān ripūn | aprameya-prabhāvaṁ taṁ deva-devam umā-patim | namasva devaṁ prayato viśveśaṁ haram akṣayam ||
Those enemies whom you have slain were, in truth, already struck down by Him beforehand. Therefore, you have only been the visible agent in their fall. Bow, with collected mind, to that immeasurably mighty Lord of gods—Umā’s consort—the Lord of the universe, Hara, the imperishable.
अर्जुन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches humility about personal agency: even when a warrior appears to win by his own strength, outcomes unfold within a larger divine order. One should therefore act without arrogance, acknowledging the supreme Lord (here Śiva) and maintaining disciplined reverence.
Arjuna addresses the victorious warrior (contextually tied to the Mahābhārata war) and declares that the enemies were already destined and ‘struck down’ by the divine beforehand. He then urges a reverential bow to Śiva—named Deva-deva, Umāpati, Viśveśa, Hara, and Akṣaya—recognizing the deity’s decisive role behind the visible events of battle.