Shloka 10
अलर्कोपाख्यानम् — Indriya-Nigraha and Yogic Victory
Mahābhārata 14.30
प्राण उवाच नेमे बाणास्तरिष्यन्ति मामलर्क कथंचन । तवैव मर्म भेत्स्यन्ति भिन्नमर्मा मरिष्यसि
prāṇa uvāca: neme bāṇās tariṣyanti mām alarka kathaṃcana | tavaiva marma bhetsyanti bhinnamarmā mariṣyasi ||
Prāṇa said: “Alarka, these arrows will not overcome me in any way. Rather, they will strike your own vital points; once your vital spots are pierced, you will die.”
प्राण उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the limits of brute force against a superior principle (here, Prāṇa as life-force): violence aimed outward can rebound upon the aggressor, and ethical restraint is implied by the warning that harm returns to the doer through fatal consequences.
Prāṇa addresses Alarka directly, declaring that Alarka’s arrows cannot defeat Prāṇa; instead, the attack will result in Alarka’s own vital points being struck, leading to his death—an ominous reversal of the intended harm.