Shloka 36
ततो5भवत् तम इव प्रकाश इव चाभवत् | दुर्दिनं सुदिनं चैव शीतमुष्णं च भारत,तदनन्तर कभी अन्धकार-सा हो जाता, कभी प्रकाश-सा हो जाता, कभी मेघोंसे आकाश घिर जाता और कभी बादलोंके छिन्न-भिन्न होनेसे सुन्दर दिन प्रकट हो जाता था। कभी सर्दी और कभी गरमी पड़ने लगती थी। अंगार और धूलिकी वर्षके साथ-साथ शस्त्रोंकी भी वृष्टि होने लगती। इस प्रकार शत्रुने मेरे साथ मायाका प्रयोग करते हुए युद्ध आरम्भ किया
tato 'bhavat tama iva prakāśa iva cābhavat | durdinaṃ sudinaṃ caiva śītam uṣṇaṃ ca bhārata |
Then the scene kept shifting—now like darkness, now like light. At one moment it was a gloomy, overcast day; at another, a clear and beautiful day. Cold and heat alternated as well. By such deceptive displays, the enemy began the battle against me through māyā—an assault not only of weapons but of illusion meant to unsettle the mind and distort perception.
वासुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how māyā can destabilize judgment by manipulating appearances—darkness and light, cold and heat, fair and foul. Ethically, it implies the need for steadiness and discernment in conflict: one should not let shifting external conditions or deceptive tactics shake inner clarity.
Vāsudeva describes a battle situation where the environment seems to transform rapidly—dark to bright, stormy to clear, cold to hot—signaling that an enemy is employing illusory power (māyā) to commence combat and confuse or intimidate.