Shloka 36
स मांसरुधिरौचैश्व॒ वसाभिश्चापि तर्पित:,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 इस प्रकार वनजन्तुओंके मांस, रुधिर और मेदेके समूहसे अत्यन्त तृप्त हो अग्निदेव ऊपर आकाशचारी होकर धूमरहित हो गये। उनकी आँखें चमक उठीं, जिह्नामें दीप्ति आ गयी और उनका विशाल मुख भी अत्यन्त तेजसे प्रकाशित होने लगा
sa māṃsa-rudhiraucaiś ca vasābhiś cāpi tarpitaḥ, kṛṣṇam abhyudyatāstraṃ ca nādaṃ mumucur ulbaṇam |
Vaiśaṃpāyana said: Sated with heaps of flesh, blood, and fat, the beings there, seeing Kṛṣṇa with weapon raised, let out a dreadful cry. In the burning forest, terrified by portents and wails, the creatures lamented loudly; and as Agni became fully gratified by the mass of flesh, blood, and marrow, he rose skyward, free of smoke, his eyes flashing, his tongue aflame with brilliance, and his vast mouth shining with intense radiance.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the unsettling ethical tension in epic action: divine purposes (Agni’s fulfillment and cosmic necessity) can unfold through terrifying violence that causes widespread suffering. It invites reflection on how dharma is not always emotionally comforting—events may be ‘ordained’ or instrumented by gods, yet the pain of living beings remains real and morally weighty.
During the burning of the forest (Khaṇḍava episode), creatures trapped within cry out in terror upon seeing Kṛṣṇa (and, by context, Arjuna) with weapons raised. Agni, having consumed and become satiated by the forest’s living matter—flesh, blood, and fat—rises upward, appearing smokeless and intensely radiant.