Shloka 433
कण्वोपदेशः—नश्वरबलविवेकः तथा मातलिगुणकेश्याः आख्यानारम्भः
Kaṇva’s Counsel on Impermanent Power; Opening of the Mātali–Guṇakeśī Narrative
मात्सर्याहंकृती चैव क्रमादेव उदाह्वता: । इन अस्त्रोंसे विद्ध होनेपर सभी मनुष्य मृत्युको प्राप्त होते हैं। काम, क्रोध, लोभ, मोह, मद, मान, मात्सर्य और अहंकार--ये क्रमश: आठ दोष बताये गये हैं, जिनके प्रतीकस्वरूप उपयुक्त आठ अस्त्र हैं
mātsaryāhaṅkṛtī caiva kramād eva udāhṛtāḥ | etair astraiḥ viddhaḥ sarvo manuṣyo mṛtyuṃ prāpnoti | kāmaḥ krodho lobho moho madaḥ mānaḥ mātsaryaṃ ca ahaṅkāraś ca—ete kramāśaḥ aṣṭau doṣāḥ proktāḥ, yeṣāṃ pratikasvarūpāṇi uktāni aṣṭau astrāṇi |
Rama disse: “A inveja e o egoísmo também são mencionados na devida ordem. Quando ferido por essas ‘armas’, todo homem encontra a morte. Desejo, ira, cobiça, ilusão, embriaguez, orgulho, inveja e ego — estes são declarados oito defeitos em sequência, e as oito armas de que se falou são seus correspondentes simbólicos.”
राम उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage teaches that the gravest dangers are inner: eight vices—desire, anger, greed, delusion, intoxication, pride, envy, and ego—function like weapons that ‘kill’ a person by destroying discernment, relationships, and dharmic conduct.
Rama is delivering a moral instruction, using the imagery of weapons (astras) to explain how specific psychological faults strike human beings and lead them toward ruin, as part of a broader didactic conversation in the Udyoga Parva.