Shloka 5
मौसलपर्व — अध्याय ८
Arjuna’s evacuation of Dvārakā, Vasudeva’s rites, and the caravan’s crisis
अर्जुनका मन अशान्त था। वे बारंबार लंबी साँस खींच रहे थे। उनका चित्त खिन्न एवं विरक्त हो चुका था। उन्हें इस अवस्थामें देखकर व्यासजीने पूछा-- ।। नखकेशदशाकुम्भवारिणा कि समुक्षित: । आवीरजानुगमनं ब्राह्मणो वा हतस्त्वया
nakha-keśa-daśā-kumbha-vāriṇā kiṁ samukṣitaḥ | āvīra-jānugamanaṁ brāhmaṇo vā hataḥ tvayā ||
नखकेशदशाकुम्भवारिणा किं समुक्षितः । आवीरजानुगमनं ब्राह्मणो वा हतस्त्वया ॥
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames Arjuna’s inner turmoil in terms of dharma: distress may arise from (1) ritual impurity and inauspicious contact, but more seriously from (2) moral transgression such as harming a brāhmaṇa. Vyāsa’s questioning highlights the ethical hierarchy—inner guilt and adharma weigh heavier than mere external impurity.
Arjuna is visibly shaken and despondent. Vyāsa, noticing this, asks pointed questions—whether Arjuna has incurred ritual defilement, encountered an ill omen, or committed the grave sin of killing a brāhmaṇa—seeking the cause of Arjuna’s agitation in the aftermath of catastrophic events in the Mausala Parva.