Mahabharata 16.1.26 — Mausala Parva, Adhyaya 1, Shloka 26

अध्याय १: उत्पात-दर्शनम् तथा वृष्णि-विनाश-श्रवणम्

Omens Observed and the Hearing of the Vṛṣṇi Destruction

Devanagari script

येन वृष्ण्यन्धककुले पुरुषा भस्मसात्‌ कृता: । वृष्ण्यन्धकविनाशाय किंकरप्रतिमं महत्‌

Transliteration

yena vṛṣṇyandhakakule puruṣā bhasmasāt kṛtāḥ | vṛṣṇyandhakavināśāya kiṅkarapratimaṃ mahat |

Translation

Chính chiếc chùy ấy đã khiến những người đàn ông của dòng Vṛṣṇi và Andhaka hóa thành tro bụi. Được sinh ra để diệt vong Vṛṣṇi và Andhaka, nó là vật hùng mạnh, tựa như kẻ sai dịch của thần Yama.

Word by Word

• येन: by whom/whereby
• येन: Karana
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: यद्
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Instrumental, Singular

• वृष्णि-अन्धक-कुले: in the Vrishni-Andhaka clan
• वृष्णि-अन्धक-कुले: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: कुल
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Singular

• पुरुषाः: men, warriors
• पुरुषाः: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुरुष
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• भस्मसात्: to ashes, utterly destroyed
• भस्मसात्: Karma
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: भस्मसात्

• कृताः: were made, were rendered
• कृताः: Karma
• Type: Verb
• Root: कृ
• Form: Passive (past passive participle), Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• वृष्णि-अन्धक-विनाशाय: for the destruction of the Vrishnis and Andhakas
• वृष्णि-अन्धक-विनाशाय: Sampradana
• Type: Noun
• Root: विनाश
• Form: Masculine, Dative, Singular

• किंकर-प्रतिमम्: like a servant/messenger (of Yama)
• किंकर-प्रतिमम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: प्रतिम
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• महत्: great, mighty
• महत्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महत्
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• Vṛṣṇi clan
• Andhaka clan
• mūsala (iron club)
• Yama
• kiṅkara (Yama’s attendant/messenger)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse frames the clan’s annihilation as more than a brawl: the mūsala functions like Yama’s agent, suggesting that when collective conduct degenerates, destruction can manifest as an impersonal, karmic inevitability rather than a merely personal victory or defeat.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana identifies the mūsala (club) as the instrument that reduced the Vṛṣṇi-Andhaka men to ashes, emphasizing its fearsome, death-dealing role—‘like Yama’s messenger’—in bringing about the collapse of the clan.