Shloka 133
अध्याय १४८ — कर्णप्रभावः, धृष्टद्युम्नस्य विरथता, तथा घटोत्कच-आह्वानम्
Chapter 148: Karṇa’s Pressure, Dhṛṣṭadyumna Unhorsed, and the Summoning of Ghaṭotkaca
शलभा इव ते दीप्तमन्निं प्राप्प ययु: क्षयम् । समरांगणमें अपनेको शूरवीर माननेवाले आपके जो-जो योद्धा अर्जुनके सामने गये, वे जलती आगममें पड़े हुए पतंगोंके समान नष्ट हो गये,पश्चाज्ज्ञातं महीपाल तव पुत्रै: सहानुगै: । वासुदेवप्रयुक्तेयं मायेति नृपसत्तम नृपश्रेष्ठ॒ महीपाल! पीछे सेवकोंसहित आपके पुत्रोंको यह ज्ञात हुआ कि इस अन्धकारके रूपमें भगवान् श्रीकृष्णद्वारा फैलायी हुई माया थी
sañjaya uvāca |
śalabhā iva te dīptam agniṃ prāpya yayuḥ kṣayam |
paścāj jñātaṃ mahīpāla tava putraiḥ sahānugaiḥ |
vāsudeva-prayukteyaṃ māyeti nṛpasattama ||
Sañjaya said: Like moths that rush into a blazing fire and meet their end, so too did those of your warriors—who fancied themselves heroes on the battlefield—perish when they went before Arjuna. Later, O king, your sons along with their followers realized, O best of rulers, that this darkness was an illusion (māyā) set in motion by Vāsudeva (Kṛṣṇa).
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse warns against prideful self-assurance in violence: those who rush forward imagining themselves invincible can be destroyed as easily as moths in flame. It also highlights the Mahābhārata theme that human effort in war is often overshadowed by divine agency—here, Kṛṣṇa’s māyā—so ethical discernment and humility are essential.
Sañjaya reports to the king that many of the king’s warriors were annihilated when they confronted Arjuna. Afterwards, the king’s sons and their followers recognized that the battlefield darkness/confusion they experienced was not ordinary, but an illusion deployed by Vāsudeva (Kṛṣṇa).