Shloka 10
अलर्कोपाख्यानम् — Indriya-Nigraha and Yogic Victory
Mahābhārata 14.30
प्राण उवाच नेमे बाणास्तरिष्यन्ति मामलर्क कथंचन । तवैव मर्म भेत्स्यन्ति भिन्नमर्मा मरिष्यसि
prāṇa uvāca: neme bāṇās tariṣyanti mām alarka kathaṃcana | tavaiva marma bhetsyanti bhinnamarmā mariṣyasi ||
普拉那说道：“阿拉尔迦，这些箭无论如何也不能胜过我。反倒会刺中你自身的要害；要害一破，你必丧命。”
प्राण उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the limits of brute force against a superior principle (here, Prāṇa as life-force): violence aimed outward can rebound upon the aggressor, and ethical restraint is implied by the warning that harm returns to the doer through fatal consequences.
Prāṇa addresses Alarka directly, declaring that Alarka’s arrows cannot defeat Prāṇa; instead, the attack will result in Alarka’s own vital points being struck, leading to his death—an ominous reversal of the intended harm.