Shloka 23
Adhyāya 31: Rājasūya-samāgama — The Gathering of Kings and the Ordering of Hospitality
सैन्यक्षयकरं चैव प्राणानां संशयावहम् । चक्रे तस्य हि साहाय्यं भगवान् हव्यवाहन:
sainyakṣayakaraṃ caiva prāṇānāṃ saṃśayāvaham | cakre tasya hi sāhāyyaṃ bhagavān havyavāhanaḥ ||
That battle was indeed a destroyer of armies and a cause of mortal peril, casting men’s very lives into uncertainty. For in that conflict, the blessed Havyavāhana (Agni), the Fire-god, rendered assistance to him.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how warfare creates extreme uncertainty for life and can annihilate armies, while also showing that outcomes may be shaped by divine alignment—suggesting that human prowess alone does not fully determine results.
Vaiśaṃpāyana describes a fierce battle so dangerous that lives hang in doubt and armies are destroyed, and notes that Agni (Havyavāhana) is actively providing assistance to one side in that conflict.