Shloka 37
अग्निभय-प्रसङ्गे मन्दपालस्य शोकः
Mandapāla’s Lament amid the Threat of Fire
दहाृतस्तस्य च बभौ रूपं दावस्य भारत । मेरोरिव नगेन्द्रस्य कीर्णस्यांशुमतोंडशुभि:,भारत! उस जलते हुए खाण्डववनका स्वरूप ऐसा जान पड़ता था, मानो सूर्यकी किरणोंसे व्याप्त पर्वतराज मेरुका सम्पूर्ण कलेवर उद्दीप्त हो उठा हो
dāhṛtas tasya ca babhau rūpaṃ dāvasya bhārata | meror iva nagendrasya kīrṇasyāṃśumatāṃḍaśubhiḥ ||
Vaiśampāyana said: O Bhārata, the appearance of that blazing forest-conflagration was as though the entire body of Mount Meru, king of mountains, had flared up—pervaded on all sides by the radiant rays of the Sun.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse is primarily descriptive rather than didactic: it uses a cosmic simile (Meru flooded with the Sun’s rays) to convey the magnitude and inevitability of destructive forces once unleashed, reminding the listener that actions in the epic can trigger consequences vast beyond ordinary human scale.
The narrator describes the terrifying spectacle of a forest conflagration—its blazing form appearing like Mount Meru fully lit by the Sun’s radiance—intensifying the scene of widespread burning associated with the Khāṇḍava episode.