Shloka 20
Saṃvaraṇa–Tapatī Vivāhaḥ (The Marriage of Saṃvaraṇa and Tapatī) — Mahābhārata, Ādi Parva 163
तद् वृक्षयुद्धम भवन्महीरुहविनाशनम् । घोररूपं महाराज नरराक्षसराजयो:,महाराज! नरराज तथा राक्षसराजका वह भयंकर वृक्षयुद्ध उस वनके समस्त वृक्षोंके विनाशका कारण बन गया
tad vṛkṣayuddham abhavan mahīruhavināśanam | ghorarūpaṃ mahārāja nara-rākṣasa-rājayoḥ ||
Vaiśampāyana said: That battle fought with trees became the destruction of the great forest-trees. O King, it was a dreadful encounter between the human king and the rākṣasa king—so fierce that it laid waste to the woodland itself.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
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.
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.