Shloka 9
मौसलपर्व — अध्याय ८
Arjuna’s evacuation of Dvārakā, Vasudeva’s rites, and the caravan’s crisis
बभूव वीरान्तकर: प्रभासे लोमहर्षण: । ब्राह्मणोंके शापसे मौसलयुद्धमें वृष्णिवंशी वीरोंका विनाश हो गया। बड़े-बड़े वीरोंका अन्त कर देनेवाला वह रोमाज्चकारी संग्राम प्रभासक्षेत्रमें घटित हुआ था ।। एते शूरा महात्मान: सिंहदर्पा महाबला:
babhūva vīrāntakaraḥ prabhāse lomaharṣaṇaḥ | brāhmaṇānāṃ śāpena mausala-yuddhe vṛṣṇivaṃśī-vīrāṇāṃ vināśo 'bhavat | baḍe-baḍe vīrāṇām antaṃ karoti sma sa romāñcakārī saṅgrāmaḥ prabhāsa-kṣetre ghaṭitaḥ || ete śūrā mahātmānaḥ siṃha-darpā mahābalāḥ ||
अर्जुन उवाच—प्रभासे लोमहर्षणो महान् संग्रामोऽभवत्, यो महावीरानपि वीरान्तकरः। ब्राह्मणशापप्रभावात् मौसलयुद्धे वृष्णिवंशीयाः शूरा विनष्टाः। स एव प्रभासक्षेत्रे पावने देशे महाबलानां महात्मनां निधानहेतुः समभवत्। एते शूरा महात्मानः सिंहदर्पा महाबलाः।
अर्जुन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even the strongest and most celebrated warriors are subject to moral causality: when a community incurs a brāhmaṇa-śāpa through adharma, the result can be collective ruin. The passage underscores impermanence and the ethical weight of actions over mere power.
Arjuna recounts the catastrophic internecine conflict at Prabhāsa in which the Vṛṣṇi-line heroes annihilated one another in the Mausala-yuddha, a destruction triggered by a brāhmaṇas’ curse. He emphasizes the battle’s terrifying intensity and the stature of those who perished.