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
വൈശമ്പായനൻ പറഞ്ഞു— നോക്കുക; വെള്ളം പ്രളയമായി ഉയരുമ്പോൾ കരകൾ പൊട്ടി ഇടിഞ്ഞുവീഴുന്നതുപോലെ, അങ്ങനെ തന്നെ കുരുക്കളുടെ കൂട്ടങ്ങൾ തള്ളിവീഴ്ത്തപ്പെട്ടു തകർന്നുപോകുന്നതു ഞാൻ കണ്ടു.
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.