Shloka 20

Saṃvaraṇa–Tapatī Vivāhaḥ (The Marriage of Saṃvaraṇa and Tapatī) — Mahābhārata, Ādi Parva 163

Devanagari script

तद्‌ वृक्षयुद्धम भवन्महीरुहविनाशनम्‌ । घोररूपं महाराज नरराक्षसराजयो:,महाराज! नरराज तथा राक्षसराजका वह भयंकर वृक्षयुद्ध उस वनके समस्त वृक्षोंके विनाशका कारण बन गया

Transliteration

tad vṛkṣayuddham abhavan mahīruhavināśanam | ghorarūpaṃ mahārāja nara-rākṣasa-rājayoḥ ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana sprach: Jener Kampf, in dem man mit Bäumen focht, wurde zur Vernichtung der mächtigen Waldbäume. O König, es war eine schaurige Begegnung zwischen dem Menschenkönig und dem Rākṣasa-König—so wild, dass sie den Wald selbst verwüstete.

Word by Word

• तत्: that
• तत्: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular

• वृक्ष-युद्धम्: the battle with trees
• वृक्ष-युद्धम्: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: वृक्षयुद्ध
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular

• अभवत्: became / happened
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू
• Form: Imperfect (Laṅ), 3rd, Singular, Parasmaipada

• महीरुह-विनाशनम्: destroying the trees
• महीरुह-विनाशनम्: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महीरुहविनाशन
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular

• घोर-रूपम्: of dreadful form
• घोर-रूपम्: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: घोररूप
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular

• महा-राज: O great king
• Type: Noun
• Root: महाराज
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• नर-राक्षस-राजयोः: of the king of men and the king of rākṣasas
• Type: Noun
• Root: नरराक्षसराज
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Dual

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• Mahārāja (the king addressed, i.e., Janamejaya)
• nara-rāja (human king, unnamed here)
• rākṣasa-rāja (rākṣasa king, unnamed here)
• forest trees (mahīruha)
• vṛkṣa (trees used as weapons)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Unchecked fury in battle does not remain confined to the opponents; it spreads outward, causing needless destruction—here symbolized by the devastation of the forest itself. The verse implicitly cautions rulers and warriors that power without restraint harms the wider world.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana describes a terrifying fight between a human king and a rākṣasa king in which they use trees as weapons. The struggle is so violent that it results in the ruin of the forest’s great trees.