Shloka 16
Arjuna’s Lament, the End of the Yadus, and the Pāṇḍavas’ Departure
यद्दो:षु मा प्रणिहितं गुरुभीष्मकर्ण- नप्तृत्रिगर्तशल्यसैन्धवबाह्लिकाद्यै: । अस्त्राण्यमोघमहिमानि निरूपितानि नोपस्पृशुर्नृहरिदासमिवासुराणि ॥ १६ ॥
yad-doḥṣu mā praṇihitaṁ guru-bhīṣma-karṇa- naptṛ-trigarta-śalya-saindhava-bāhlikādyaiḥ astrāṇy amogha-mahimāni nirūpitāni nopaspṛśur nṛhari-dāsam ivāsurāṇi
Grandes generais como Bhīṣma, Droṇa, Karṇa, Bhūriśravā, Suśarmā, Śalya, Jayadratha e Bāhlika apontaram contra mim suas armas de glória infalível; mas, pela graça de Śrī Kṛṣṇa, não tocaram sequer um fio de cabelo da minha cabeça, assim como as armas dos asuras não afetaram Prahlāda, o supremo devoto de Nṛsiṁhadeva.
The history of Prahlāda Mahārāja, the great devotee of Nṛsiṁhadeva, is narrated in the Seventh Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Prahlāda Mahārāja, a small child of only five years, became the object of envy for his great father, Hiraṇyakaśipu, only because of his becoming a pure devotee of the Lord. The demon father employed all his weapons to kill the devotee son, Prahlāda, but by the grace of the Lord he was saved from all sorts of dangerous actions by his father. He was thrown in a fire, in boiling oil, from the top of a hill, underneath the legs of an elephant, and he was administered poison. At last the father himself took up a chopper to kill his son, and thus Nṛsiṁhadeva appeared and killed the heinous father in the presence of the son. Thus no one can kill the devotee of the Lord. Similarly, Arjuna was also saved by the Lord, although all dangerous weapons were employed by his great opponents like Bhīṣma.
FAQs
This verse says that even perfectly aimed, powerful weapons could not touch Yudhiṣṭhira, illustrating that a devotee under the Lord’s shelter is protected beyond ordinary calculation.
He is recalling the Kurukṣetra war, where these great warriors and allies deployed formidable astras against the Pāṇḍavas, yet by Kṛṣṇa’s grace he remained unharmed.
Cultivating sincere devotion and dependence on the Lord builds inner fearlessness and steadiness—one learns to face threats and reversals with faith, duty, and prayerful resilience.