Shloka 21
अलर्कोपाख्यानम् — Indriya-Nigraha and Yogic Victory
Mahābhārata 14.30
अलर्क उवाच दृष्टवा रूपाणि बहुशस्तानेव प्रतिगृध्यति । तस्माच्चक्षुर्हनिष्यामि निशितै: सायकैरहम्
alarka uvāca dṛṣṭvā rūpāṇi bahuśas tāneva pratigṛdhyati | tasmāc cakṣur haniṣyāmi niśitaiḥ sāyakair aham ||
Wika ni Alarka: “Ang matang ito man, matapos makakita nang paulit-ulit ng iba’t ibang anyo, ay naghahangad pa ring masilayan muli ang mga bagay na iyon. Kaya’t wawasakin ko ang matang ito sa pamamagitan ng aking matatalim na palaso.”
अलर्क उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights indriya-nigraha (restraint of the senses): repeated seeing fuels renewed craving, so one must curb the sense-faculty that drives attachment. Alarka’s extreme resolve dramatizes the ethical point that unchecked perception can become a gateway to greed and bondage.
Alarka reflects on how the eye, after repeatedly viewing attractive objects, continues to long for them. In a radical act of renunciation, he declares he will destroy his own eye with sharp arrows to end the cycle of seeing and craving.