Shloka 22
Karṇa’s Counsel on Śrī
Fortune) and the Proposed Display before the Exiled Pāṇḍavas (कर्णवचनम् / श्रीप्रदर्शन-प्रस्तावः
सम्मोहयतन्निवेमान् स त्रीललोकान् सचराचरान् । तस्य त॑ निनदं श्रुत्वा महामेघौघनि:स्वनम्,ये उस गर्जनाद्वारा चराचर प्राणियोंसहित इन तीनों लोकोंको मूर्छित-सा कर रहे थे। महान् मेघोंकी गम्भीर ध्वनिके समान उनकी उस गर्जनाको सुनकर चित्र और ऐरावत नामक दो महागज वहाँ दौड़े आये। कुमार स्कन्द सूर्यकी कान्तिके समान उद्धासित हो रहे थे। उन दोनों हाथियोंको आते देख उन अग्निकुमारने उन्हें दो हाथोंसे पकड़ लिया तथा एक हाथमें शक्ति और दूसरेमें अरुण शिखासे विभूषित और बलवानोंमें श्रेष्ठ एवं विशाल शरीरवाले एक समीपवर्ती कुक्कुट (मुर्गै)-को पकड़कर उन महाबाहु कुमारने भयंकर गर्जना की और (उन हाथी-मुर्गे आदिको लिये हुए) क्रीडा करने लगे
sammohayatann imān sa trīl lokān sacarācarān | tasya ta ninadaṃ śrutvā mahāmeghaughaniḥsvanam |
Mārkaṇḍeya said: He was stupefying these three worlds—together with all that moves and all that is still. Hearing his roar, deep as the rumbling of a vast mass of thunderclouds, the great elephants Citrā and Airāvata came rushing there. Skanda, blazing with the radiance of the sun, on seeing those two elephants approach, seized them with both hands; and taking up in one hand his śakti (spear) and in the other a nearby mighty cock, crested with ruddy plumes and foremost among the strong, the mighty-armed Kumāra let out a terrible roar and began to sport, bearing those creatures and weapons—displaying irresistible divine power that overwhelms the worlds.
मार्कण्डेय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage highlights the overwhelming potency of divine energy: when cosmic power manifests, ordinary beings—even across the three worlds—are shaken into stupefaction. Ethically, it cautions against pride in limited strength and invites reverence and humility before forces that uphold and regulate the cosmos.
Mārkaṇḍeya describes Skanda/Kumāra roaring with a thundercloud-like sound that stuns the three worlds. Hearing it, the great elephants Citrā and Airāvata rush in; Skanda, radiant like the sun, seizes them and, holding his spear and a mighty cock, roars again and sports—demonstrating his superhuman might.