Shloka 44
कर्णनिधनवृत्तान्तनिवेदनम् | Reporting Karṇa’s Fall to Yudhiṣṭhira
साथ ही उस हिंसक पशुओंको मारनेवाले व्याधको ले जानेके लिये स्वर्गसे एक सुन्दर विमान उतर आया, जो अप्सराओंके गीतों और वाद्योंकी मधुर ध्वनिसे मुखरित होनेके कारण बड़ा मनोरम जान पड़ता था ।।
tad bhūtaṁ sarvabhūtānām abhāvāya kilārjuna | tapas taptvā varaṁ prāptaṁ kṛtamandhaṁ svayambhuvā ||
Vāyu berkata: “Wahai Arjuna, orang-orang mengatakan bahwa makhluk ini pada kelahiran lampau bertapa dan memperoleh anugerah yang ditujukan untuk memusnahkan semua makhluk hidup. Karena itu Svayambhū (Brahmā), demi mengekang daya yang berbahaya itu, menjadikannya buta.”
वायुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
Austerity and spiritual power (tapas) can yield formidable boons, but intent matters: a boon sought for universal destruction is ethically dangerous. The verse highlights the safeguarding role of cosmic authority (Brahmā/Svayambhū), who limits such destructive capacity—here by imposing blindness—so that power does not overturn dharma and the welfare of beings.
Vāyudeva addresses Arjuna and explains a tradition about a certain being: it is said to have gained, through past-life austerities, a boon oriented toward the annihilation of all creatures. To prevent that outcome, Brahmā is said to have made the being blind, curbing its ability to carry out widespread harm.