Shloka 14
Bhīmasena’s Capture by the Serpent and Nahūṣa’s Self-Disclosure (भीमसेन-भुजङ्गग्रहणं नहुषोपाख्यानप्रस्तावः)
यक्षराक्षसगन्धर्वास्तथैव च पतत्त्रिण: खेचराणि च भूतानि सर्वाण्येवावतस्थिरे,द्विजातियोंको किसी प्रकार भी वेदोंका भान नहीं हो पाता था। जनमेजय! भूमिके भीतर जो प्राणी निवास करते थे, वे भी पीड़ित हो उठे और अर्जुनको सब ओरसे घेरकर खड़े हो गये। उन सबके मुखपर विकृति आ गयी थी। वे हाथ जोड़े हुए थर-थर काँप रहे थे और अस्त्रोंके तेजसे संतप्त हो धनंजयसे प्राणोंकी भिक्षा माँग रहे थे। इसी समय ब्रह्मर्षि, सिद्ध महर्षि, समस्त जंगम प्राणी, श्रेष्ठ देवर्षि, देवता, यक्ष, राक्षस, गन्धर्व, पक्षी तथा आकाशचारी प्राणी सभी वहाँ आकर उपस्थित हो गये
yakṣarākṣasagandharvāstathaiva ca patattriṇaḥ | khecarāṇi ca bhūtāni sarvāṇyevāvatasthire ||
Vaiśampāyana said: Yakṣas, Rākṣasas, and Gandharvas—along with birds and other sky-ranging beings—came there and stood assembled on every side. The scene conveys a moment when the boundaries between worlds thin: diverse orders of beings gather as witnesses to an overwhelming display of power, and the narrative underscores the ethical pressure that such power places upon all who behold it—prompting fear, supplication, and a recognition of human (and non-human) vulnerability before divine or superhuman force.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how extraordinary power or crisis draws all orders of beings into witness, reminding the listener that might affects the whole cosmos and that fear and humility arise naturally when confronted with overwhelming force—an implicit ethical call to restraint and responsibility.
Vaiśampāyana describes an assembly: Yakṣas, Rākṣasas, Gandharvas, birds, and other aerial beings arrive and stand gathered together, surrounding the scene as observers/participants in a moment of heightened supernatural intensity.