Mahabharata — Virata Parva, Shloka 28
Adhyāya 61: Saṃmohana-astra and the Kuru Withdrawal (संमोहनास्त्रं तथा कुरुनिवृत्तिः)
शीर्यमाणानि कूलानि प्रवृद्धेनेव वारिणा । मया कुरूणां वृन्दानि पात्यमानानि पश्य वै
śīryamāṇāni kūlāni pravṛddheneva vāriṇā | mayā kurūṇāṁ vṛndāni pātyamānāni paśya vai
ヴァイシャンパーヤナは言った。「見よ——増水した激流が岸を崩すように、我はクルの軍勢が投げ倒され、砕け散るのを見た。」
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the fragility of power and formations in conflict: when overwhelming force arises, even what seems stable collapses—like riverbanks in flood—highlighting impermanence and the swift undoing of pride and security in war.
Vaiśampāyana, as narrator, describes witnessing the Kuru forces being struck down in large groups, using a vivid comparison to eroding riverbanks during a swollen flood to convey the scale and inevitability of the rout.