महतस्तरसा विलङ्घयन् निजदोषेण कुधीर्विनश्यति

महतस्तरसा विलङ्घयन् निजदोषेण कुधीर्विनश्यति।

कुरुते न खलु स्वयेच्छया शलभानिन्धनमिद्धदीधितिः॥

माघप्रणिते शिशुपलवधे १६-३५

mahatastarasā vilaṅghayan nijadoṣeṇa kudhīrvinaśyati|

kurute na khalu svayecchayā śalabhānindhanamiddhadīdhitiḥ||

māghapraṇite śiśupalavadhe 16-35

A thought provoking quote from the classic Shishupala Vadham of Magha..

(The story of Shishupala the cousin of Lord Krishna who had to be killed by the Lord is well known.. Even though Shishupala was wicked and foul mouthed, and always enjoyed irritating the Lord, Krishna was kind to him.. as he was his own mother's sister's son.. In fact the Lord had consented that he would not take any action against the abusive cousin till he gets insulted by him a hundred times.. and of course, He would not guarantee safety beyond that level..

In a public congregation of the best and the most noble persons of the time... in the court of Yudhistira, Shishupala started hurling insults on Lord Krishna.. and the count crossed hundred ,, and the discus of the lord just whirled ahead and cut off the head of that abusive person.. Shishupala met his nemesis by crossing the threshold of patience and forbearance of the strongest of the persons, the Lord Krishna himself.. He perished because he did not know his limits..)

The wicked and misguided fellows deliberately and forcibly intrude into the terrain of the strong and noble ones and perish all by themselves..

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The meaning of the slokam

The misguided and foolish person, prodded by his own faulty judgment and pushed by arrogance, forcibly intrude into the field of action of the noble and powerful adversary, and gets defeated and destroyed.

The moths and flies, out of their own ignorance fly straight into the burning fire all by themselves and gets immolated.. The fire never invited them to become its fuel.

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The misguided fellows often itch for wrong action, and in that process irritate some really strong person who is just quiet otherwise.. The disturbed person just tries to ward of the irritation but such movement would prove death to the one who caused the disturbance..

It is just like pulling the tail of an elephant which is standing quiet somewhere..

The elephant would turn back, catch hold of the fellow and he may be crushed....before either he or the elephant realizes about the action..

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analysis

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कुधीः the foolish misguided person.. a person with a defective mind

निजदोषेण out of his own defects, out of his own error of judgment

महतः great men

तरसा deliberately and forcibly

विलङ्घयन् crossing the territory, irriatating

विनश्यति perishes

इद्धदीधितिः the fire... (the one who sheds light by lighting the twigs)

न खलु never indeed

शलभान् moths

स्वयं by itself, by himself

इन्धनं fuel

कुरुते makes