Shloka 20
Baka Dālbhya at Avakīrṇa-tīrtha: Rāṣṭra-kṣaya and Release through Prasāda (Śalya-parva, Adhyāya 40)
ददृशेडथ ततः सर्व भज्यमानं महावनम् | तस्य क्रुद्धो महाराज वसिष्ठो मुनिसत्तम:,आकर उन्होंने देखा कि वह सारा विशाल वन उजाड़ होता जा रहा है। महाराज! यह देखकर मुनिवर वसिष्ठ राजा विश्वामित्रपर कुपित हो उठे
dadṛśe ’tha tataḥ sarvaṁ bhajyamānaṁ mahāvanam | tasya kruddho mahārāja vasiṣṭho munisattamaḥ |
Vaiśaṃpāyana said: Then he saw that the entire great forest was being shattered and laid waste. O King, witnessing this, the foremost sage Vasiṣṭha was seized with anger toward King Viśvāmitra—an ethical warning that power, when driven by rivalry and wrath, turns even sacred spaces into ruin and provokes the censure of the wise.
वैशग्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights an ethical contrast: the sage’s moral authority reacts against destructive, rivalry-driven action. It implies that unchecked anger and competition—especially among rulers—can violate dharma by causing needless harm, even to the natural and sacred order.
The narrator reports that a vast forest is being devastated. Seeing this, the great sage Vasiṣṭha becomes angry, specifically directing his indignation toward King Viśvāmitra, indicating a conflict where royal power has led to destructive consequences.