Shloka 21
तस्मादित: सुरै: सार्थ गन्तुमहसि वासव,कृष्णमशभ्युद्यतास्त्रं च नादं मुमुचुरुल्बणम् | उन्होंने उस जलते हुए वनको और मारनेके लिये अस्त्र उठाये हुए श्रीकृष्ण तथा अर्जुनको देखा। उत्पात और आर्तनादके शब्दसे उस वनमें खड़े हुए वे सभी प्राणी संत्रस्त- से हो उठे थे। उस वनको अनेक प्रकारसे दग्ध होते देख और अस्त्र उठाये हुए श्रीकृष्णपर दृष्टि डाल भयानक आर्तनाद करने लगे
tasmād itaḥ suraiḥ sārtha gantum arhasi vāsava | kṛṣṇam abhyudyatāstraṃ ca nādaṃ mumucur ulbaṇam ||
Vaiśampāyana said: “Therefore, O Vāsava (Indra), you should depart from here together with the gods.” Seeing Kṛṣṇa with his weapon raised, they let out a fierce, dreadful cry. The beings standing in that forest, terrified by ominous portents and anguished wailing, beheld the woodland burning in many ways and, casting their eyes upon Kṛṣṇa with weapon uplifted, raised a fearful lament.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage highlights how overwhelming power—especially when aligned with divine purpose—can compel even celestial beings to withdraw, and how violence and catastrophe (a forest burning, weapons raised) generate collective fear and lament. Ethically, it underscores the gravity of destructive action and the cosmic sensitivity to adharma-like upheaval, even when driven by a larger divine plan.
Vaiśampāyana addresses Indra (Vāsava), urging him to leave with the gods. In the scene, the forest is burning, Kṛṣṇa is seen with a weapon raised (and Arjuna is implied alongside him in the episode), and the beings in the forest—shaken by ominous signs and cries of distress—utter a fierce, dreadful roar of lamentation.