Shloka 41
वृत्ति-सत्सङ्ग-दान-धर्म
Livelihood, Virtuous Association, and Ethics of Giving
करालकृष्णवर्णश्न रक्तवासास्तथैव च । त॑ यज्ञ सुमहासत्त्वोडदहत् कक्षमिवानल:
karāla-kṛṣṇa-varṇaś ca rakta-vāsās tathaiva ca | taṁ yajñaṁ su-mahā-sattvo dadāha kakṣam ivānalaḥ ||
Bhīṣma said: “He was terrifying, dark in hue, and clad in red garments. That exceedingly mighty being burned down the sacrifice itself, just as fire consumes a thicket of dry brush.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the moral tension between ritual authority and destructive power: even a yajña—symbol of dharma and social order—can be ruined when confronted by overwhelming, fearsome force, implying that ethical intent and restraint matter as much as outward ritual.
Bhīṣma describes a terrifying, dark-hued figure dressed in red who burns the ongoing sacrifice, comparing the destruction to fire rapidly consuming a dry thicket.