Shloka 43
अध्याय १: महाप्रस्थानारम्भः
The Commencement of the Great Departure
ततोडग्निर्भरतश्रेष्ठ तत्रैवान्तरधीयत । ययुश्च॒ पाण्डवा वीरास्ततस्ते दक्षिणामुखा:
tato 'gnir bharataśreṣṭha tatraivāntaradhīyata | yayuś ca pāṇḍavā vīrās tatas te dakṣiṇāmukhāḥ ||
Then, O best of the Bharatas, the fire vanished then and there. After that, the heroic Pāṇḍavas continued on their way, turning their faces southward.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores impermanence and disciplined renunciation: even potent symbols like fire can vanish, and the Pāṇḍavas continue without clinging—modeling steadiness and detachment as they move toward their final end in accordance with dharma.
Vaiśampāyana narrates that the fire present there disappears on the spot, and then the Pāṇḍavas proceed onward, now oriented southward, continuing the course of their great departure (mahāprasthāna).