Shloka 19
Adhyāya 168: Arjuna’s counters to māyā-rains and the onset of darkness
Nivātakavaca engagement
निघ्नन् प्रोथेन पृथिवीं विलिखंश्ररणैरपि । सम्मार्जञ्जठरेणोर्वी विवर्तश्न मुहुर्मुहु:
nighnan prothena pṛthivīṁ vilikhañ śṛṅgair api | sammārjan jaṭhareṇorvīṁ vivartaś ca muhur muhuḥ ||
Arjuna dit : «Il frappait la terre de son groin et la griffait même de ses défenses ; de ses pattes il retournait le sol. Et, sans cesse, il se couchait puis, de son ventre, frottait la poussière jusqu’à la rendre si nette qu’on eût dit l’endroit balayé.»
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.