Shloka 50
Duryodhana Seized by Citraseṇa; Kaurava Petition to Yudhiṣṭhira (दुर्योधनापहारः / चित्रसेनगन्धर्वग्रहणम्)
उपाघ्राति च यो गन्धान् रसांश्वापि पृथग्विधान् | उन्माद्यति स तु क्षिप्रं स ज्ञेयो राक्षसो ग्रह:
upāghrāti ca yo gandhān rasāṁś cāpi pṛthagvidhān | unmādyati sa tu kṣipraṁ sa jñeyo rākṣaso grahaḥ |
Mārkaṇḍeya said: “That being who sniffs out scents and also tastes various distinct flavors, and who quickly drives a person into madness—know him to be a rākṣasa-like possessing spirit.”
मार्कण्डेय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches discernment: certain sudden, overpowering disturbances of the senses and mind are to be recognized as hostile ‘seizing’ influences (grahas). Naming the affliction is part of protecting dharma—so that one does not mistake derangement for insight or consent.
Mārkaṇḍeya is describing the identifying signs of a particular graha (a possessing spirit). He characterizes it as rākṣasa-like and explains its effects—fixation on smell and taste and rapid onset of madness—so listeners can recognize the nature of the threat.