Shloka 21
अलर्कोपाख्यानम् — Indriya-Nigraha and Yogic Victory
Mahābhārata 14.30
अलर्क उवाच दृष्टवा रूपाणि बहुशस्तानेव प्रतिगृध्यति । तस्माच्चक्षुर्हनिष्यामि निशितै: सायकैरहम्
alarka uvāca dṛṣṭvā rūpāṇi bahuśas tāneva pratigṛdhyati | tasmāc cakṣur haniṣyāmi niśitaiḥ sāyakair aham ||
अलर्क बोला—यह आँख भी अनेकों बार विभिन्न रूपों का दर्शन करके फिर उन्हीं को देखना चाहती है; अतः मैं इसे अपने तीखे तीरों से नष्ट कर दूँगा।
अलर्क उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights indriya-nigraha (restraint of the senses): repeated seeing fuels renewed craving, so one must curb the sense-faculty that drives attachment. Alarka’s extreme resolve dramatizes the ethical point that unchecked perception can become a gateway to greed and bondage.
Alarka reflects on how the eye, after repeatedly viewing attractive objects, continues to long for them. In a radical act of renunciation, he declares he will destroy his own eye with sharp arrows to end the cycle of seeing and craving.