Mahabharata 1.151.30 — Adi Parva, Adhyaya 151, Shloka 30
बक-राक्षसस्य आह्वानम् तथा वृक्षयुद्धम्
Summons of Baka and the Tree-Weapon Engagement
अयं नीलाम्बुदश्यामो नरेष्वप्रतिमो<र्जुन: । शेते प्राकृतववद् भूमौ ततो दुःखतरं नु किम्
ayaṃ nīlāmbudaśyāmo nareṣv apratimo 'rjunaḥ | śete prākṛtavad bhūmau tato duḥkhataraṃ nu kim ||
Wika ni Vaiśampāyana: “Si Arjuna—maitim na tila ulap na punô ng ulan, at walang kapantay sa mga tao—ay ngayo’y nakahimlay sa hubad na lupa na parang karaniwang tao. Anong dalamhati pa ang hihigit dito?”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the fragility of worldly status: even the greatest among humans can be brought low by circumstance. It evokes compassion and moral urgency by showing how suffering can overturn outward glory, prompting reflection on duty (dharma) and the proper response to another’s misfortune.
The narrator Vaiśampāyana points to Arjuna—renowned and peerless—now lying on the ground like an ordinary man. The image underscores a moment of intense distress and humiliation, emphasizing how extraordinary heroes can be reduced to helplessness, thereby intensifying the pathos of the situation.
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