Shloka 20

Devanagari script

महावने मृगगणा दावाग्नित्रासिता यथा

Transliteration

mahāvane mṛgagaṇā dāvāgnitrāsitā yathā

Translation

Sañjaya said: “Just as herds of deer in a vast forest, terrified by a raging wildfire…”

Word by Word

• महावने: in the great forest
• महावने: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: महावन
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Singular

• मृगगणाः: herds/groups of deer
• मृगगणाः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: मृगगण
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• दावाग्नित्रासिताः: frightened by a forest-fire
• दावाग्नित्रासिताः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: त्रासित (from √त्रस्)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• यथा: as/like
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यथा

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sanjaya
• mahāvana (great forest)
• mṛgagaṇāḥ (herds of deer/wild animals)
• dāvāgni (forest fire)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Fear can dissolve order and discernment: when danger becomes overwhelming, even the strong may scatter like deer fleeing a forest fire. The verse highlights how inner steadiness and leadership are ethically crucial in war, where panic can cause needless destruction.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sanjaya begins a vivid comparison: herds of deer in a great forest, terrified by a wildfire. The simile is used to describe a similar scene of alarm and dispersal among combatants in the Karna Parva battle narrative.