Shloka 19
Adhyāya 168: Arjuna’s counters to māyā-rains and the onset of darkness
Nivātakavaca engagement
निघ्नन् प्रोथेन पृथिवीं विलिखंश्ररणैरपि । सम्मार्जञ्जठरेणोर्वी विवर्तश्न मुहुर्मुहु:,वह अपनी थूथुनसे पृथ्वीपर चोट करता और पैरोंसे धरती खोदता था। बार-बार लेटकर वह अपने पेटसे वहाँकी भूमिको ऐसा स्वच्छ कर देता था, मानो उसपर झाड़ दिया गया हो
nighnan prothena pṛthivīṁ vilikhañ śṛṅgair api | sammārjan jaṭhareṇorvīṁ vivartaś ca muhur muhuḥ ||
Arjuna dijo: «Golpeaba la tierra con el hocico e incluso la rascaba con los colmillos; con las patas removía el suelo. Una y otra vez se echaba y, con el vientre, frotaba la tierra hasta dejarla tan limpia que parecía como si aquel lugar hubiera sido barrido».
अजुन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse primarily serves a descriptive purpose: it highlights intense restlessness and physical agitation through vivid natural imagery. Ethically, it can be read as illustrating how inner disturbance manifests outwardly in repeated, compulsive action.
Arjuna describes a creature’s behavior: it strikes the ground with its snout, scrapes with its horns, digs with its feet, and repeatedly rolls and rubs its belly on the earth, leaving the spot looking swept clean.