Shloka 20

Ādi-parva Adhyāya 209: Śaraṇāgati of the Cursed Apsarases; Nārītīrtha-prasiddhi; Arjuna’s Vimocana

Devanagari script

प्रभिन्नकरटौ मत्तौ भूत्वा कुड्जरखूपिणौ । संलीनमपि दुर्गेषु निन्यतुर्यमसादनम्‌,कठिन-से-कठिन स्थानमें छिपे हुए मुनिको भी वे मद बहानेवाले मतवाले हाथीका रूप धारण करके यमलोक पहुँचा देते थे

Transliteration

prabhinnakaraṭau mattau bhūtvā kuñjararūpiṇau | saṁlīnam api durgeṣu ninyatur yamasādanam ||

Translation

พวกมันแปลงเป็นช้างดุคลุ้มคลั่ง มีน้ำมันช้างไหลจากขมับ แม้ฤๅษีที่ซ่อนอยู่ในที่กันดารยากเข้าถึง ก็ยังถูกลากไปถึงยามสทน—ที่ประทับแห่งยม

Word by Word

प्रभिन्नकरटौwith oozing temples (rut-fluid flowing)

मत्तौintoxicated, mad

भूत्वाhaving become

कुञ्जररूपिणौassuming the form of elephants

संलीनम्hidden, concealed

अपिeven

दुर्गेषुin difficult places/fastnesses

निन्यतुःthey led/carried (away)

यमसादनम्to Yama’s abode (death’s dwelling)

Speaker

नारद उवाच

Characters & Entities

न

नारद (Nārada)

य

यम (Yama)

य

यमसादन (Yamasādana, abode of Yama)

क

कुञ्जर (elephant form)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse warns that when strength is joined with intoxication and cruelty, it becomes a force that tramples dharmic boundaries—so extreme that even those seeking refuge in austerity and seclusion are not spared. It highlights the ethical danger of unrestrained power and the violation of sacred protections.

What is happening in the narrative?

Nārada describes two agents (implied by the dual forms) who, becoming musth elephants, hunt down and seize even a hidden muni in remote, hard-to-reach places, carrying him to Yama’s abode—an image of relentless, lethal pursuit.