Shloka 53
Adhyāya 168: Arjuna’s counters to māyā-rains and the onset of darkness
Nivātakavaca engagement
जगद् विनिर्दहेदेवमल्पतेजसि पातितम् | पीड्यमानेन बलवत् प्रयोज्यं स्याद्ू धनंजय
arjuna uvāca | jagad vinirdahad evam alpatejasi pātitam | pīḍyamānena balavat prayojyaṃ syād dhanaṃjaya ||
アルジュナは言った。「もしこれが、光輝の乏しい者に投じられただけでこのように全世界を焼き尽くすのなら、真に強大な者に対してのみ、甚大な力をもって用いられるべきだ――おお、ダナンジャヤよ。」
अजुन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Power must be used with restraint and proportionality. A force capable of catastrophic harm should not be unleashed on a weak opponent; it is ethically appropriate only when truly necessary against a formidable threat.
Arjuna reflects on the destructive potential of a mighty force (implicitly a weapon or power). Observing that it could ‘burn the world’ even when used on someone of lesser power, he argues it should be reserved for use—if at all—only against a genuinely powerful adversary.