Shloka 44
Chapter 51: Saṃdhyākāla-saṃhāra
Evening Withdrawal after Arjuna’s Counter-Advance
श्वेत: क्रोधात् प्रजज्वाल हविषा हव्यवाडिव । अपने भाई उत्तरको मारा गया और शल्यको कृतवर्मके साथ रथपर बैठा हुआ देख विराटपुत्र श्वेत क्रोधसे जल उठे, मानो अग्निमें घीकी आहुति पड़ गयी हो ।।
śvetaḥ krodhāt prajajvāla haviṣā havyavāḍ iva | sa visphārya mahācāpaṃ śakracāpōpamaṃ balī ||
Sañjaya said: Enraged, Śveta blazed up like a sacrificial fire fed with clarified butter. Seeing his brother Uttara slain and Śalya seated on the chariot together with Kṛtavarman, the mighty prince of Virāṭa stretched his great bow—like Indra’s bow—ready to answer death with decisive force. The passage frames righteous fury as a response to grievous loss, yet places it within the disciplined action of a warrior bound to the battlefield’s code.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse illustrates how intense emotion—especially grief-born anger—can arise naturally, yet a warrior’s dharma channels it into disciplined action rather than uncontrolled violence. The simile of fire fed by ghee suggests anger’s rapid intensification, warning that such energy must be governed by duty and restraint.
Sañjaya describes Śveta, son of King Virāṭa, erupting in fury after seeing his brother Uttara killed and noticing Śalya riding on a chariot with Kṛtavarman. Śveta then draws his great bow, likened to Indra’s, signaling his readiness to engage them in battle.