अर्जुन उवाच
अदृश्यमानास् ते दैत्या योधयन्ति स्म मायया ॥
अदृश्यान् अस्त्रवीर्येण तान् अप्य् अहम् अयोधयम् ॥
गाण्डीवमुक्ता विशिखाः सम्यग् अस्त्रप्रचोदिताः ॥
अच्छिन्दन्न् उत्तमाङ्गानि यत्र यत्र स्म ते ऽभवन् ॥
ततो निवातकवचा वध्यमाना मया युधि ॥
संहृत्य मायां सहसा प्राविशन् पुरम् आत्मनः ॥
व्यपयातेषु दैत्येषु प्रादुर्भूते च दर्शने ॥
अपश्यं दानवांस् तत्र हताञ् शतसहस्रशः ॥
विनिष्पिष्टानि तत्रैषां शस्त्राण्य् आभरणानि च ॥
कूटशः स्म प्रदृश्यन्ते गात्राणि कवचानि च ॥
हयानां नान्तरं ह्य् आसीत् पदाद् विचलितुं पदम् ॥
उत्पत्य सहसा तस्थुर् अन्तरिक्षगमास् ततः ॥
ततो निवातकवचा व्योम संछाद्य केवलम् ॥
अदृश्या ह्य् अभ्यवर्तन्त विसृजन्तः शिलोच्चयान् ॥
अन्तर्भूमिगताश् चान्ये हयानां चरणान्य् अथ ॥
न्यगृह्णन् दानवा घोरा रथचक्रे च भारत ॥
विनिगृह्य हरीन् अश्वान् रथं च मम युध्यतः ॥
सर्वतो माम् अचिन्वन्त सरथं धरणीधरैः ॥
पर्वतैर् उपचीयद्भिः पतमानैस् तथापरैः ॥
स देशो यत्र वर्ताम गुहेव समपद्यत ॥
पर्वतैश् छाद्यमानो ऽहं निगृहीतैश् च वाजिभिः ॥
अगच्छं परमाम् आर्तिं मातलिस् तद् अलक्षयत् ॥
arjuna uvāca
adṛśyamānās te daityā yodhayanti sma māyayā ||
adṛśyān astravīryeṇa tān apy aham ayodhayam ||
gāṇḍīvamuktā viśikhāḥ samyag astrapracoditāḥ ||
acchindann uttamāṅgāni yatra yatra sma te 'bhavan ||
tato nivātakavacā vadhyamānā mayā yudhi ||
saṃhṛtya māyāṃ sahasā prāviśan puram ātmanaḥ ||
vyapayāteṣu daityeṣu prādurbhūte ca darśane ||
apaśyaṃ dānavāṃs tatra hatāñ śatasahasraśaḥ ||
viniṣpiṣṭāni tatraiṣāṃ śastrāṇy ābharaṇāni ca ||
kūṭaśaḥ sma pradṛśyante gātrāṇi kavacāni ca ||
hayānāṃ nāntaraṃ hy āsīt padād vicalituṃ padam ||
utpatya sahasā tasthur antarikṣagamās tataḥ ||
tato nivātakavacā vyoma saṃchādya kevalam ||
adṛśyā hy abhyavartanta visṛjantaḥ śiloccayān ||
antarbhūmigatāś cānye hayānāṃ caraṇāny atha ||
nyagṛhṇan dānavā ghorā rathacakre ca bhārata ||
vinigṛhya harīn aśvān rathaṃ ca mama yudhyataḥ ||
sarvato mām acinvanta sarathaṃ dharaṇīdharaiḥ ||
parvatair upacīyadbhiḥ patamānais tathāparaiḥ ||
sa deśo yatra vartāma guheva samapadyata ||
parvataiś chādyamāno 'haṃ nigṛhītaiś ca vājibhiḥ ||
agacchaṃ paramām ārtiṃ mātalis tad alakṣayat ||
Arjuna said: 'The invisible daityas fought me with māyā, and I too fought the invisible ones with the power of astras. Arrows loosed from the Gāṇḍīva, rightly driven by my weapons, cut off the finest heads wherever the enemy stood. Then the Nivātakavacas, being struck by me in battle, suddenly withdrew their māyā and entered their city. When the daityas had gone and my sight returned, I saw there hundreds of thousands of slain dānavas. Their shattered weapons, ornaments, bodies, and armor lay in heaps. There was no room for the horses to move a single step; they suddenly rose and stood in the air. Then the Nivātakavacas covered the whole sky and, remaining invisible, advanced again, hurling mountain boulders. Other terrible dānavas, having gone underground, seized the feet of the horses and the wheels of my chariot. Having seized the bay horses, the chariot, and me, they buried me together with the chariot on every side with mountains. From the mountains piling up and falling, the place where we stood became like a cave. Covered by mountains, my horses held fast, I fell into extreme distress, and Mātali noticed this.'
5321857652c4 · published Jul 16, 2026, 5:13:49 PM UTC
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The dānavas make use of the space above, below, and around, turning the world into a trap. In this way māyā reveals its nature: it does not merely conceal the enemy but narrows consciousness itself down to a cave of fear.