Shloka 7
खाण्डवदाहोत्तर-वरप्रदानम्
Boons after the Khāṇḍava Burning
संदष्टदशनाश्षान्ये समुत्पेतुरनेकश: । ततस्ते$तीव घूर्णन्त: पुनरग्नौ प्रपेदिरे,कुछ जानवर दाँत कटकटाते, बार-बार उछलते-कूदते और अत्यन्त चक्कर काटते हुए फिर आगमें ही पड़ जाते थे
saṃdaṣṭa-daśanāś cānye samutpetur anekaśaḥ | tatas te 'tīva ghūrṇantaḥ punar agnau prapedire ||
Vaiśampāyana said: Some creatures, their teeth clenched tight, leapt up again and again. Then, spinning in extreme disorientation, they fell back into the very fire—an image of helpless panic and the cruel inevitability of destruction once one is trapped in a consuming blaze.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse evokes the helplessness of beings caught in destructive conditions: panic and frantic effort do not necessarily lead to escape, highlighting the harsh consequences that unfold once one is trapped in a consuming force (symbolically, the results of harmful circumstances or actions).
Creatures in a conflagration react instinctively—clenching their teeth, repeatedly leaping, and whirling in confusion—only to fall back into the fire again, intensifying the scene’s pathos and terror.