Shloka 163
मौसलपर्व — अध्याय ८
Arjuna’s evacuation of Dvārakā, Vasudeva’s rites, and the caravan’s crisis
आभीरैरनुसृत्याजी हृता: पञ्चनदालयै: । जब मैं उस घटनाका चिन्तन करता हूँ तब बारंबार मेरा हृदय विदीर्ण होने लगता है। ब्रह्म! पंजाबके अहीरोंने मुझसे युद्ध ठानकर मेरे देखते-देखते वृष्णिवंशकी हजारों स्त्रियोंका अपहरण कर लिया
ābhīrair anusṛtyājī hṛtāḥ pañcanadālayaiḥ |
Arjuna dijo: «Los Ābhīras, moradores de la tierra de los cinco ríos, nos persiguieron y, resueltos a combatir, raptaron ante mis propios ojos a miles de mujeres del linaje Vṛṣṇi. Cada vez que medito en aquella calamidad, mi corazón se desgarra una y otra vez. ¡Oh brāhmaṇa!»
अर्जुन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even the greatest warrior’s prowess becomes ineffective when the sustaining moral-spiritual order has shifted; the episode underscores impermanence, the limits of personal power, and the ethical anguish that arises when one cannot protect those under one’s care.
After the destruction of the Vṛṣṇis, Arjuna escorts the surviving women, but Ābhīras from the Pañcanada region pursue and attack, abducting many women in Arjuna’s presence; Arjuna recounts this with repeated grief and self-reproach.