Shloka 75
Jarītā–Śārṅgā-saṃvāda: Ākhu-haraṇa and the Approach of Agni (आखुहरणं अग्न्यागमनश्च)
पुरा देवनियोगेन यत् त्वया भस्मसात् कृतम् | आलयं देवशत्रूणां सुघोरं खाण्डवं वनम्,'पूर्वकालमें देवताओंके आदेशसे तुमने दैत्योंक जिस अत्यन्त घोर निवासस्थान खाण्डववनको जलाया था, वहाँ इस समय सब प्रकारके जीव-जन्तु आकर निवास करते हैं। विभावसो! उन्हींके मेदसे तृप्त होकर तुम स्वस्थ हो सकोगे
vaiśampāyana uvāca |
purā devaniyogena yat tvayā bhasmasāt kṛtam |
ālayaṃ devaśatrūṇāṃ sughoraṃ khāṇḍavaṃ vanam ||
Vaiśampāyana said: “Formerly, acting under the command of the gods, you reduced to ashes that exceedingly dreadful Khāṇḍava forest—the dwelling-place of the enemies of the gods. Now, all kinds of creatures have come to live there; O Vibhāvasu, by feeding upon their fat you will be satisfied and regain your strength.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames destructive action as ethically conditioned by higher injunction (deva-niyoga): violence is narrated as permissible when aligned with maintaining cosmic order against forces hostile to the gods, while also showing that such acts have continuing consequences in the world’s living ecology.
Vaiśampāyana recalls that Vibhāvasu (Agni) once burned the dreadful Khāṇḍava forest at the gods’ behest, a place associated with the gods’ enemies. He then notes that creatures now inhabit it and implies that Agni can be restored by consuming them (their fat), linking the past conflagration to Agni’s present need for nourishment.