Shloka 19
Ādi Parva, Adhyāya 180 — Svayaṃvara-Virodha and Pāṇḍava Parākrama
Draupadī Episode
अयं तिष्ठतु ते विप्र यदीच्छसि महोदधौ । मन्युजोग्निर्दहन्नापो लोका ह्यापोमया: स्मृता:
Aurva uvāca: ayaṁ tiṣṭhatu te vipra yadīcchasi mahodadhau | manyu-jo 'gnir dahann āpo lokā hy āpomayāḥ smṛtāḥ || sarvam etad vasiṣṭhasya viditaṁ vai mahāmune | rakṣasāṁ ca samuccheda eṣa tāta tapasvinām ||
Aurva dit : «Ô brahmane, si tu le souhaites, que ce feu né de la colère demeure dans le grand océan, brûlant les eaux ; car l’on se souvient que les mondes sont faits d’eau. Grand sage, tout cela est bien connu de Vasiṣṭha. Et toi, cher fils de Śakti, ce rite visant l’extermination des rākṣasas est, pour les ascètes, déjà déterminé par des causes antérieures ; tu n’en es devenu qu’un instrument. Abandonne donc ce sacrifice ; puisse le bien t’échoir, et que cette session s’achève comme il convient.»
ऑर्व उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even when one possesses immense ascetic power, anger should be redirected and restrained; destructive intent should not be allowed to consume the very foundations of the world. One should recognize the larger order (dharma and karma) and avoid becoming driven by vengeance.
Aurva addresses a brahmin-sage involved in a rite meant to destroy rākṣasas, explaining that the wrath-fire may be contained in the ocean rather than unleashed upon the worlds. He notes that Vasiṣṭha already understands the situation and that the participant is only an instrument of prior causes, urging the sacrifice to be ended for the sake of welfare.