Shloka 31
पितृदेवनिवासेषु संतापश्चाप्पजायत । भूतसड्घाश्न बहवो दीनाश्षक्रुर्महास्वनम्,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 पितरों और देवताओंके लोकमें भी खाण्डववनके दाहकी गर्मी पहुँचने लगी। बहुतेरे प्राणियोंके समुदाय कातर हो जोर-जोरसे चीत्कार करने लगे
vaiśampāyana uvāca | pitṛdeva-nivāseṣu santāpaś cāpy ajāyata | bhūta-saṅghāś ca bahavo dīnāḥ śakruḥ mahāsvanam | kṛṣṇam abhyudyatāstraṃ ca nādaṃ mumucur ulbaṇam ||
Vaiśampāyana said: Even in the abodes of the Pitṛs and the gods, the scorching heat arose. Many hosts of living beings, miserable and terrified, raised a great uproar. Seeing Kṛṣṇa with weapon lifted—ready to strike—and beholding the forest blazing in many ways, they let loose a dreadful, anguished cry.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the far-reaching ripple of destructive action: suffering is not confined to the immediate victims but spreads across realms, unsettling even the worlds of gods and ancestors. It invites ethical reflection on collateral harm and the cosmic weight of violence.
As the forest burns, terrified creatures cry out loudly. Kṛṣṇa is seen with weapon raised (in the broader episode alongside Arjuna), and the heat and distress are described as so intense that they reach even the abodes of the Pitṛs and the gods.