Mahabharata Adhyaya 102
Vana ParvaAdhyaya 10228 Verses

Adhyaya 102

विन्ध्यवृद्धिनिवारणम् — The Restraint of the Vindhya (Agastya’s Injunction)

Upa-parva: Lomāśa–Yudhiṣṭhira Saṃvāda: Vindhya-Agastya Upākhyāna (Etiology of the Vindhya’s restraint)

Yudhiṣṭhira asks Lomāśa why the Vindhya mountain abruptly became enraged and attempted to grow. Lomāśa explains that the Sun follows a prescribed route, circumambulating Meru; Vindhya, observing this, demands similar circumambulation. The Sun replies that his course is not personal preference but an assigned path by which the world’s order is maintained. Enraged, Vindhya attempts to obstruct the routes of the Sun, Moon, and stars. The gods assemble and attempt to dissuade Vindhya, but he does not comply. They then approach the ascetic Agastya (Maitrāvaruṇi), stating that only he can restrain the mountain. Agastya goes to Vindhya and requests passage southward, asking Vindhya to remain as he is until Agastya returns; Vindhya agrees to this condition. Lomāśa notes that Agastya has not returned even now, and thus Vindhya remains restrained—demonstrating the efficacy of ascetic authority and binding agreement in preserving cosmic regularity. The chapter then transitions toward the related narrative of the Kāleyas and the gods’ request that Agastya drink the ocean, setting up the subsequent episode.

Chapter Arc: रात्रि के अंधकार में दानव-स्वभाव वाले कालेय (कालेयगण) आश्रमों और पुण्य-स्थानों पर टूट पड़ते हैं—जहाँ तप, ब्रह्मचर्य और शांति का निवास है, वहीं रक्तपात का तांडव आरम्भ होता है। → वे प्रतिदिन रात में क्रुद्ध होकर मुनियों को भक्षण करते हैं; वसिष्ठ के आश्रम तक में ब्राह्मण-तपस्वियों का संहार होता है। पृथ्वी पर धर्म-रक्षा के लिए कुछ महाधनुर्धर शूर वीर भी दानवों की खोज में प्रयत्न करते हैं, पर भय और अराजकता फैलती जाती है। → देवगण भय से व्याकुल होकर ‘देवदेवेश’ विष्णु की स्तुति करते हैं—उन्हें सृष्टा, पालक और संहारकर्ता कहकर स्मरण कराते हैं कि उन्होंने नृसिंह रूप से हिरण्यकशिपु का वध किया था; अब लोक-हित में देवों, लोकों और इन्द्र की रक्षा का निवेदन करते हैं। → स्तुति के माध्यम से संकट का भार देवताओं से उठकर विष्णु की शरण में स्थापित होता है—धर्म-रक्षा का उपाय ‘दैवी हस्तक्षेप’ और ‘शरणागति’ के रूप में निश्चित होता है, यद्यपि तत्काल दानव-वध का दृश्य अभी आगे के लिए छोड़ा जाता है। → विष्णु से की गई प्रार्थना के बाद प्रश्न हवा में लटकता है—भगवान किस रूप में, किस माध्यम से, और कितनी शीघ्रता से कालेयों के आतंक का अंत करेंगे?

Shlokas

Verse 1

अऑरड..2' ९23: () हि २ 7 द्र्याधेकशततमो< ध्याय: कालेयोंद्वारा तपस्वियों

Lomāśa disse: Ó rei, abrigando-se no oceano—tesouro das águas e morada de Varuṇa—os demônios chamados Kāleyas puseram-se em movimento para destruir os três mundos.

Verse 2

ते रात्रौ समभिक्रुद्धा भक्षयन्ति सदा मुनीन्‌ । आश्रमेषु च ये सन्ति पुण्येष्वायतनेषु च,वे सदा रातमें कुपित होकर आते और आश्रमों तथा पुण्य-स्थानोंमें जो निवास करते थे उन मुनियोंकोी खा जाते थे

À noite vinham, sempre inflamados de ira, e devoravam os sábios—os que habitavam nos eremitérios e nos lugares santificados.

Verse 3

वसिष्ठस्याश्रमे विप्रा भक्षितास्तैर्दुरात्मभि: । अशीति: शतमष्टौ च नव चान्ये तपस्विन:

Lomāśa disse: No eremitério de Vasiṣṭha, aqueles de alma perversa devoraram os brāhmaṇas que ali viviam—cento e oitenta e oito ao todo—e também mais nove ascetas.

Verse 4

च्यवनस्याश्रमं गत्वा पुण्यं द्विजनिषेवितम्‌ । फलमूलाशनानां हि मुनीनां भक्षितं शतम्‌

Tendo ido ao sagrado eremitério de Cyavana—frequentado e servido por muitos dvija, os duas-vezes-nascidos—esses demônios devoraram cem sábios que se alimentavam de frutos e raízes.

Verse 5

एवं रात्रौ सम कुर्वन्ति विविशुश्वार्णवं दिवा । भरद्वाजाश्रमे चैव नियता ब्रह्मचारिण:

Thus, by night they carried out their slaughter, and by day they would enter the ocean’s waters to hide themselves. And at Bharadvāja’s hermitage as well, disciplined brahmacārins—living under vows—were destroyed. The passage underscores a grave ethical inversion: those who should protect the sanctity of āśramas instead exploit darkness and concealment to violate dharma through the killing of ascetics and students.

Verse 6

वाय्वाहाराम्बुभक्षाश्ष विंशति: संनिषूदिता: । एवं क्रमेण सर्वास्तानाश्रमान्‌ दानवास्तदा

“Twenty (brahmacārins) who lived by strict discipline—subsisting on air and water—were slaughtered. Thus, in due sequence, those Dānavas went from one hermitage to another, bringing ruin upon the ascetic communities. The passage underscores a grave ethical inversion: beings driven by destructive impulse violate the sanctity of āśramas and the protection owed to tapasvins, turning places of restraint and learning into sites of violence.”

Verse 7

निशायां परिबाधन्ते मत्ता भुजबलाश्रयात्‌ । कालोपसृष्टा: कालेया घ्नन्तो द्विजगणान्‌ बहून्‌

At night, intoxicated with reliance on the strength of their own arms, the Kāleya demons harass and oppress (the forest-dwellers). Driven on by Time’s destructive force, they keep slaughtering great numbers of twice-born Brahmins—thus advancing in a cruel, covert campaign against ascetics and the dharmic order.

Verse 8

न चैनानन्वबुध्यन्त मनुजा मनुजोत्तम । एवं प्रवृत्तान्‌ दैत्यांस्तांस्तापसेषु तपस्विषु

O best of men, the people did not realize what was happening. Thus those Daityas, bent on this course of action, kept attacking and slaughtering ascetics and men of austerity. The verse underscores a grim ethical inversion: beings driven by fate and delusion prey upon the innocent and disciplined, while ordinary people remain unaware of the hidden conspiracy behind the violence.

Verse 9

प्रभाते समदृश्यन्त नियताहारकर्शिता: । महीतलस्था मुनय: शरीरैर्गतजीवितै:,प्रातः:काल आनेपर नियमित आहारसे दुर्बल मुनिगण अपने अस्थिमात्रावशिष्ट निष्प्राण शरीरोंसे पृथ्वीपर पड़े दिखायी देते थे

At daybreak they were seen—those sages, emaciated by their strict and measured diet—lying upon the surface of the earth, their bodies bereft of life. The scene underscores the severe consequences of extreme austerity when it culminates in self-destruction, raising an implicit ethical question about the proper limits of tapas and restraint.

Verse 10

क्षीणमांसैरविरुधिरैविंमज्जान्त्रैविसंधिभि: । आकीर्णराबभौ भूमि: शड्खानामिव राशिभि:

Lomaśa said: Their flesh had wasted away and their blood was gone, for they had been devoured by rākṣasas; they were left without marrow, without entrails, and with their joints torn apart. With white bones scattered everywhere, the ground appeared as though it were covered with heaps of conch-shells—an image that underscores the horror of lawless violence and the moral disorder that follows when beings prey upon the helpless.

Verse 11

कलशैविंप्रविद्धै श्व खुवैर्भग्नैस्तथैव च | विकीर्णरन्निहोत्रैश्व भूर्बभूव समावृता

The ground of the hermitages was covered over—strewn with overturned water-pots, broken vessels, and the scattered implements and offerings of the agnihotra. The scene signals a rupture of sacred order: where daily rites should sustain harmony, neglect and violence have left the very space of dharma in disarray.

Verse 12

निःस्वाध्यायवषट्कारं नष्टयज्ञोत्सवक्रियम्‌ । जगदासीकत्निरुत्साहं कालेयभयपीडितम्‌

Logaśa said: “The world had become bereft of Vedic study and the sacred vaṣaṭ-calls; the rites of sacrifices and festive observances had fallen into ruin. All beings seemed sunk in inertia and without zeal, oppressed by fear of the Kāleyas.”

Verse 13

स्वाध्याय और वषट्त्कार बंद हो गये। यज्ञोत्सव आदि कार्य नष्ट हो गये। कालेयोंके भयसे पीड़ित हुए सम्पूर्ण जगतमें कहीं कोई उत्साह नहीं रह गया था ।।

Study of sacred lore and the ritual cry of ‘vaṣaṭ’ fell silent; sacrificial festivals and allied rites were ruined. With the whole world oppressed by fear of the Kāleyas, no spark of courage remained anywhere. Thus, O lord of men, as people dwindled day by day, terrified and intent only on saving their own lives, they fled in fear to all the directions. The passage underscores how adharma and terror do not merely kill bodies—they extinguish learning, worship, and the communal order that sustains dharma.

Verse 14

केचिद्‌ गुहा: प्रविविशुर्निर्सिरांश्चापरे तथा । अपरे मरणोद्विग्ना भयात्‌ प्राणान्‌ समुत्सूजन्‌

Some people fled into caves and hid themselves; others stayed near springs and water-sources. Still others, shaken by the very thought of death, became so overwhelmed by fear that they gave up their lives then and there. The passage underscores how panic and loss of inner steadiness can destroy a person even before any external danger strikes.

Verse 15

केचिदत्र महेष्वासा: शूरा: परमहर्षिता: । मार्गमाणा: परं यत्नं दानवानां प्रचक्रिरे

Ali também havia alguns grandes arqueiros—heróis valentes, cheios do mais alto júbilo e zelo—que, ao procurar o paradeiro dos Dānavas, puseram em marcha esforços árduos para subjugá-los.

Verse 16

न चैतानधिजग्मुस्ते समुद्र समुपाश्रितान्‌ । श्रमं जग्मुश्न परममाजग्मु: क्षयमेव च

Mas não puderam encontrar aqueles demônios que se haviam abrigado no oceano. Esforçaram-se ao máximo; contudo, ao fim, só encontraram exaustão e, abatidos, retornaram às suas próprias casas.

Verse 17

जगत्युपशमं याते नष्टयज्ञोत्सवक्रिये | आज म्मु: परमामार्ति त्रिदशा मनुजेश्वर,मनुजेश्वर! यज्ञोत्सव आदि कार्योके नष्ट हो जानेपर जब जगत्‌का विनाश होने लगा, तब देवताओंको बड़ी पीड़ा हुई

Ó senhor dos homens! Quando o mundo afundava em quietude e declínio, e os ritos do sacrifício (yajña) e as festividades sagradas haviam desaparecido, os deuses foram tomados por extrema angústia.

Verse 18

समेत्य समहेन्द्रा श्ष भयान्मन्त्र प्रचक्रिरे शरण्यं शरणं देव॑ नारायणमजं विभुम्‌

Reunidos, e até mesmo Indra e os demais deuses—alarmados pelo medo—conceberam um plano sagrado. Tomaram refúgio em Nārāyaṇa, o protetor divino, o Não-Nascido e Senhor onipenetrante, como abrigo supremo.

Verse 19

तेडभिगम्य नमस्कृत्य वैकुण्ठमपराजितम्‌ । ततो देवा: समस्तास्ते तदोचुर्मधुसूदनम्‌

Tendo-se aproximado e prestado homenagem a Vaikuṇṭha, o Senhor Inconquistável, todos aqueles deuses, reunidos, então se dirigiram a Madhusūdana.

Verse 20

इन्द्र आदि सब देवताओंने मिलकर भयसे मुक्त होनेके लिये मन्त्रणा की। फिर वे समस्त देवता सबको शरण देनेवाले

Os deuses, desejando libertar-se do medo, reuniram-se em conselho. Então, todos eles buscaram refúgio em Nārāyaṇa—o protetor de todos, afetuoso para com os que a Ele se acolhem, não nascido, onipresente, invencível, Senhor de Vaikuṇṭha. Prostraram-se, prestaram reverência e disseram a Madhusūdana: “Ó Senhor, Tu és nosso criador, nosso sustentador e também aquele que recolhe o mundo. Todo este universo foi por Ti produzido—tanto o que se move quanto o que não se move.”

Verse 21

'प्रभो! आप ही हमारे स्रष्टा और पालक हैं। आप ही सम्पूर्ण जगत्‌का संहार करनेवाले हैं। इस स्थावर और जंगम सम्पूर्ण जगत्‌की सृष्टि आपने ही की है ।।

“Ó Senhor! Só Tu és nosso criador e nosso protetor; só Tu és aquele que conduz todo o universo à dissolução. Este mundo inteiro—o imóvel e o móvel—foi criado por Ti. Ó de olhos de lótus! Em tempos antigos, quando a terra se perdeu sob o oceano, assumiste a forma de Varāha, o Javali, e, para o bem do mundo, ergueste a terra das águas.”

Verse 22

आदिदैत्यो महावीर्यो हिरण्यकशिपु: पुरा । नारसिंहं वपु: कृत्वा सूदितः पुरुषोत्तम,“पुरुषोत्तम! प्राचीनकालमें आपने ही नृसिंह-शरीर धारण करके महापराक्रमी आदिदैत्य हिरण्यकशिपुका वध किया था

Lomaśa disse: “Em tempos antigos, ó Puruṣottama, assumiste o corpo de Narasiṁha, o Homem-Leão, e abateste Hiraṇyakaśipu, o Daitya primordial, de grande valentia.”

Verse 23

अवध्य: सर्वभूतानां बलिश्चापि महासुर: । वामन वपुराश्रित्य त्रैलोक्याद्‌ भ्रंशितस्त्वया,“सम्पूर्ण प्राणियोंके लिये अवध्य महादैत्य बलिको भी आपने ही वामनरूप धारण करके त्रिलोकीके राज्यसे वंचित किया

Lomaśa disse: “Até mesmo Bali, o poderoso asura tido por invulnerável a todos os seres, foi por Ti privado da soberania sobre os três mundos, quando assumiste a forma do anão Vāmana.”

Verse 24

असुरश्न महेष्वासो जम्भ इत्यभिविश्रुत: । यज्ञक्षोभकर: क्रूरस्त्वयैव विनिपातित:,'यज्ञोंका नाश करनेवाले क्रूरकर्मा महाधनुर्धर जम्भ नामसे विख्यात असुरको भी आपने ही मार गिराया था

“E aquele poderoso arqueiro, o asura célebre pelo nome de Jambha—cruel por natureza e perturbador dos sacrifícios—foi, de fato, abatido por Ti, e por Ti somente.”

Verse 25

एवमादीनि कर्माणि येषां संख्या न विद्यते । अस्माकं भयभीतानां त्वं गतिर्मधुसूदन,'ऐसे-ऐसे आपके अनेक कर्म हैं, जिनकी कोई संख्या नहीं है। मधुसूदन! हम भयभीत देवताओंके एकमात्र आश्रय आप ही हैं

Tais feitos teus são incontáveis, além de toda contagem. Ó Madhusūdana, para nós, deuses tomados de terror, só tu és o refúgio e o caminho para a segurança.

Verse 26

तस्मात्‌ त्वां देवदेवेश लोकार्थ ज्ञापयामहे । रक्ष लोकांश्व देवांश्ष शक्रं च महतो भयात्‌

Por isso, ó Senhor dos deuses, pelo bem dos mundos nós te fazemos esta súplica sincera: protege todos os seres do universo, protege também os deuses, e Indra igualmente, deste grande terror.

Verse 101

इस प्रकार श्रीमहाभारत वनपर्वके अन्तर्गत तीर्थयात्रापर्वमें लोमशती र्थयात्राके प्रसंगमें वृत्रवधोपाख्यानविषयक एक सौ एकवाँ अध्याय पूरा हुआ

Assim termina o centésimo primeiro capítulo do Mahābhārata, no Vana Parva, dentro do Tīrthayātrā Parva, no contexto da narrativa de peregrinação de Lomasha, tratando do episódio do abatimento de Vṛtra.

Verse 102

इति श्रीमहाभारते वनपर्वणि तीर्थयात्रापर्वणि लोमशतीर्थयात्रायां विष्णुस्तवे दयधिकशततमो<्थध्याय:

Assim termina o centésimo segundo capítulo (com dois acréscimos) do Śrī Mahābhārata, no Vana Parva, dentro do Tīrthayātrā Parva, no episódio da peregrinação de Lomāśa, referente ao hino de louvor a Viṣṇu.

Frequently Asked Questions

The tension lies between personal recognition-seeking (Vindhya’s demand for equal honor) and adherence to an impersonal, world-sustaining order (the Sun’s fixed path), illustrating how grievance can become destabilizing when elevated above systemic duty.

Stability is preserved when authority is exercised through disciplined restraint and truthful commitments: Agastya’s tapas-backed speech secures compliance without escalation, prioritizing collective order over reactive pride.

No explicit phalaśruti is stated in these verses; the meta-significance is implicit—understanding the episode frames dharma as alignment with cosmic regularity and highlights the narrative function of sages as custodians of order through vow-binding speech.

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