Shloka 50
५ ]/7 १0) ॥ ५८८, थ्र्टा श्व्ट ॥/९ २2०.४ है ४ ५। भो भो माया यदच्छा वा न विद्य: किमिदं भवेत् । अस्त्रं त्विदं कथं मिथ्या मम कश्न व्यतिक्रम:,“महर्षे! यह माया है या दैवेच्छा। मेरी समझमें नहीं आता कि यह क्या है? यह अस्त्र झूठा कैसे हो गया? मुझसे कौन-सी गलती हो गयी?
sañjaya uvāca | bho bho māyā yadṛcchā vā na vidyaḥ kim idaṃ bhavet | astraṃ tv idaṃ kathaṃ mithyā mama kaś ca vyatikramaḥ ||
Sañjaya said: “Alas! Is this some illusion, or mere chance? I cannot understand what this has become. How has this weapon turned futile? What transgression—what mistake—has been committed by me?”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even in war, power and technique are not absolute: when outcomes suddenly reverse, one must examine whether the cause is moral lapse (vyatikrama), divine ordinance, or deceptive appearance (māyā). The verse highlights accountability and the limits of human control.
A speaker, in shock at an unexpected turn, sees a deployed weapon fail and tries to diagnose the cause—illusion, chance, or a fault on his part—reflecting the Mahābhārata’s recurring tension between human agency and forces beyond comprehension.