Shloka 12
अलर्कोपाख्यानम् — Indriya-Nigraha and Yogic Victory
Mahābhārata 14.30
अलर्क उवाच इयं स्वादून् रसान् भुक्त्वा तानेव प्रतिगृध्यति । तस्माज्जिद्धां प्रति शरान् प्रतिमोक्ष्याम्पहं शितान्
alarka uvāca: iyaṃ svādūn rasān bhuktvā tān eva pratigṛdhyati | tasmāj jihvāṃ prati śarān pratimokṣyāmy ahaṃ śitān ||
Wika ni Alarka: “Ang dilang ito, matapos malasahan ang matatamis na lasa, hinahangad pa rin ang mga iyon. Kaya ngayon, ilalabas ko ang aking matatalim na palaso laban sa dila mismo.”
अलर्क उवाच
Educational Q&A
Repeated desire is sustained by the senses themselves; ethical discipline targets the source of craving (the tongue/appetite) rather than endlessly pursuing pleasurable objects.
Alarka personifies the tongue as a persistent seeker of pleasure and declares a dramatic resolve to ‘shoot arrows’ at it—an image for forcefully restraining appetite and conquering desire through inner austerity.