Mahabharata 1.222.9 — Adi Parva, Adhyaya 222, Shloka 9
Jarītā–Śārṅgā-saṃvāda: Ākhu-haraṇa and the Approach of Agni (आखुहरणं अग्न्यागमनश्च)
स मां प्रज्वलितं दृष्टवा मेघाम्भोभि: प्रवर्षति । ततो दग्धुं न शकनोमि दिशधक्षुर्दावमीप्सितम्
sa māṁ prajvalitaṁ dṛṣṭvā meghāmbhobhiḥ pravarṣati | tato dagdhuṁ na śaknomi diśaḥ kṣur-dāvam īpsitam ||
Seeing me blazing, he makes the clouds pour down rain in torrents. Therefore, even though I desire to unleash the forest-fire in all directions and burn this Khāṇḍava, I am unable to consume it by fire.
ब्राह्मण उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the limits of individual power when opposed by greater cosmic or divine forces: even intense effort can be checked by countervailing authority, suggesting that outcomes arise from a larger order beyond personal will.
The speaker (a brāhmaṇa figure in the episode) says that whenever he blazes to burn the forest, clouds immediately shower rain, preventing the intended conflagration—an allusion to divine protection that frustrates the burning of Khāṇḍava.
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