Shloka 7
मौसलपर्व — अध्याय ८
Arjuna’s evacuation of Dvārakā, Vasudeva’s rites, and the caravan’s crisis
इस प्रकार श्रीमह्याभारत मौसलपर्वमें अर्जुनद्वारा वृष्णिवंशकी स्त्रियों और बालकोंका आनयनविषयक सातवाँ अध्याय पूरा हुआ,श्रोतव्यं चेन्मया पार्थ क्षिप्रमाख्यातुमरहसि । “कहीं तुम युद्धमें परास्त तो नहीं हो गये? क्योंकि श्रीहीन-से दिखायी देते हो। भरतश्रेष्ठ तुम कभी पराजित हुए हो--यह मैं नहीं जानता; फिर तुम्हारी ऐसी दशा क्यों है? पार्थ! यदि मेरे सुननेयोग्य हो तो अपनी इस मलिनताका कारण मुझे शीघ्र बताओ” ।। ६३ || अर्जुन उवाच यः स मेघवपु: श्रीमान् बृहत्पड़्कजलोचन:
śrotavyaṃ cenmayā pārtha kṣipram ākhyātum arhasi |
“kva nu tvaṃ yuddhe parājito na vā? śrīhīna iva dṛśyase |
bharataśreṣṭha na tvāṃ kadācit parājitaṃ jānāmi; atha kasmāt tavaivaṃvidhā daśā? |
pārtha! yadi me śrotavyaṃ, tad asyā malinatyāḥ kāraṇaṃ kṣipraṃ vada” ||
(arjuna uvāca) yaḥ sa meghavapuḥ śrīmān bṛhatpaṅkajalochanaḥ …
श्रोतव्यं चेन्मया पार्थ क्षिप्रमाख्यातुमर्हसि । युद्धे पराजितो वासि गतश्रीरिव लक्ष्यसे । न त्वां प्रभिन्नं जानामि किमिदं भरतर्षभ ॥ अर्जुन उवाच—यः स मेघवपुः श्रीमान् बृहत्पद्मकजलोचनः…
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage highlights the ethical and spiritual dimension of ‘śrī’ (auspicious power, dignity, inner radiance): even a great hero’s outward strength can wane when the sustaining divine order and purpose withdraw. It invites reflection on impermanence and on seeking the true cause of decline rather than assuming mere military defeat.
A concerned interlocutor addresses Arjuna, noticing his diminished appearance and asking whether he has been defeated and why he seems stripped of splendor. Arjuna begins his reply by describing a radiant figure (introduced with epithets like ‘cloud-hued’ and ‘lotus-eyed’), setting up an explanation for his changed condition.