Shloka 48
Kuntī’s Prayers and the Neutralization of the Brahmāstra
Uttarā Protected; Yudhiṣṭhira’s Grief Begins
अहो मे पश्यताज्ञानं हृदि रूढं दुरात्मन: । पारक्यस्यैव देहस्य बह्व्यो मेऽक्षौहिणीर्हता: ॥ ४८ ॥
aho me paśyatājñānaṁ hṛdi rūḍhaṁ durātmanaḥ pārakyasyaiva dehasya bahvyo me ’kṣauhiṇīr hatāḥ
అయ్యో! దుराత్ముడనైన నా అజ్ఞానాన్ని చూడండి. ఇతరులకు (జంతువులకు) ఆహారమయ్యే ఈ శరీరం కోసం నేను ఎన్నో అక్షౌహిణుల సైన్యాన్ని చంపాను.
A solid phalanx of 21,870 chariots, 21,870 elephants, 109,650 infantry and 65,600 cavalry is called an akṣauhiṇī. And many akṣauhiṇīs were killed on the Battlefield of Kurukṣetra. Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira, as the most pious king of the world, takes for himself the responsibility for killing such a huge number of living beings because the battle was fought to reinstate him on the throne. This body is, after all, meant for others. While there is life in the body, it is meant for the service of others, and when it is dead it is meant to be eaten by dogs and jackals or maggots. He is sorry because for such a temporary body such a huge massacre was committed.
FAQs
This verse shows that deep-rooted ignorance is to think the body is “mine,” leading to grave karmic consequences; Kuntī laments that so many armies died due to attachment to a body that is ultimately not the self.
In humility before Kṛṣṇa, Kuntī acknowledges how attachment and false ego can drive even noble families into massive violence, and she prays with honesty about the conditioned tendency to identify with the body.
Regularly remember the soul is distinct from the body, reduce ego-driven decisions, and practice devotion (hearing, chanting, prayer) so choices are guided by dharma and compassion rather than possessiveness and identity-based anger.