Chapter XI · Śloka 25
दंष्ट्राकरालानि च ते मुखानि
दृष्ट्वैव कालानलसन्निभानि ।
दिशो न जाने न लभे च शर्म
प्रसीद देवेश जगन्निवास ॥
दृष्ट्वैव कालानलसन्निभानि ।
दिशो न जाने न लभे च शर्म
प्रसीद देवेश जगन्निवास ॥
daṁṣṭrā-karālāni ca te mukhāni
dṛṣṭvaiva kālānala-sannibhāni ।
diśo na jāne na labhe ca śarma
prasīda deveśa jagan-nivāsa ॥
dṛṣṭvaiva kālānala-sannibhāni ।
diśo na jāne na labhe ca śarma
prasīda deveśa jagan-nivāsa ॥
Seeing Your mouths, terrible with tusks, like the fires of cosmic dissolution — I lose my sense of direction and find no shelter; be gracious, O Lord of lords, O abode of the universe.
The mouths blaze like the fire of universal dissolution (kālānala), evoking the end of all things — a sight that strips away all orientation. Arjuna's plea prasīda ("be pleased, be gracious") is the devotee's ultimate resort when all else fails.