Shloka 16
अलर्कोपाख्यानम् — Indriya-Nigraha and Yogic Victory
Mahābhārata 14.30
त्वगुवाच नेमे बाणास्तरिष्यन्ति मामलर्क कथंचन । तवैव मर्म भेत्स्यन्ति भिन्नमर्मा मरिष्यसि
tvag uvāca neme bāṇās tariṣyanti mām alarka kathaṃcana | tavaiva marma bhetsyanti bhinnamarmā mariṣyasi
Kulit itu berkata: “Wahai Alarka, anak-anak panah ini sama sekali takkan menembusku. Justru merekalah yang akan menghantam titik-titik vitalmu; ketika mermamu hancur, engkau akan mati.”
अलर्क उवाच
Educational Q&A
Do not mistake superficial protection or confidence for true invulnerability: even if the outer body seems unharmed, a strike to the marma (vital points) brings ruin. Ethically, it warns against arrogance and urges clear-eyed awareness of one’s real vulnerabilities.
Alarka addresses an opponent (or the personified ‘skin’) that boasts the arrows cannot pierce it. He counters that the arrows will in fact hit the vital spots, and once those are broken, death is inevitable—shifting the focus from outward toughness to inner, decisive vulnerability.