Shloka 53
Adhyāya 168: Arjuna’s counters to māyā-rains and the onset of darkness
Nivātakavaca engagement
जगद् विनिर्दहेदेवमल्पतेजसि पातितम् | पीड्यमानेन बलवत् प्रयोज्यं स्याद्ू धनंजय
arjuna uvāca | jagad vinirdahad evam alpatejasi pātitam | pīḍyamānena balavat prayojyaṃ syād dhanaṃjaya ||
阿周那说道：“若此器投向光辉微弱之人，竟能如此焚尽整个世界，那么它只应以极大之力用来对付真正强大的敌手——噢，檀那阇耶！”
अजुन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Power must be used with restraint and proportionality. A force capable of catastrophic harm should not be unleashed on a weak opponent; it is ethically appropriate only when truly necessary against a formidable threat.
Arjuna reflects on the destructive potential of a mighty force (implicitly a weapon or power). Observing that it could ‘burn the world’ even when used on someone of lesser power, he argues it should be reserved for use—if at all—only against a genuinely powerful adversary.