Shloka 48
मैत्रेयागमनम् — The Arrival of Maitreya and the Admonition to Duryodhana
वालिसुग्रीवयो भ्रंत्रोर्यथा स्त्रीकाड्क्षिणो: पुरा । तत्पश्चात् उसने भी प्रज्वलित वज़्के समान जलता हुआ काठ भीमके ऊपर फेंका, परंतु योद्धाओंमें श्रेष्ठ भीमने उस जलते काठको अपने बाँयें पैरसे मारकर इस तरह फेंका कि वह पुनः उस राक्षसपर ही जा गिरा। फिर तो किर्मीरने भी सहसा एक वृक्ष उखाड़ लिया और क्रोधमें भरे हुए दण्डपाणि यमराजकी भाँति उस युद्धमें पाण्डुकुमार भीमपर आक्रमण किया। जैसे पूर्वकालमें स्त्रीकी अभिलाषा रखनेवाले वाली और सुग्रीव दोनों भाइयोंमें भारी युद्ध हुआ था, उसी प्रकार उन दोनोंका वह वृक्षयुद्ध वनके वृक्षोंका विनाशक था ।। ४५-- ४७३ || शीर्षयो: पतिता वृक्षा बिभिदुर्नैकधा तयो:
vāli-sugrīvayor bhrātror yathā strī-kāṅkṣiṇoḥ purā | tat-paścāt sa api prajvalita-vajra-samānaṃ jvalitaṃ kāṣṭhaṃ bhīmasyopari cikṣepa, kintu yoddhṛṣu śreṣṭho bhīmaḥ taṃ jvalitaṃ kāṣṭhaṃ vāmena pādenāhatya tathā cikṣepa yathā punas tasminn eva rākṣase nipapāta | atha kirmīraḥ sahasaiva vṛkṣam uddhṛtya krodha-bhṛto daṇḍapāṇir yama-rāja iva tasmin yuddhe pāṇḍu-kumāraṃ bhīmam abhyadravat | yathā purā strī-kāṅkṣiṇau vāli-sugrīvau bhrātarau mahad yuddham akurutām, tathā tayor vṛkṣa-yuddhaṃ vana-vṛkṣa-vināśakam āsīt | śirṣayoḥ patitā vṛkṣā bibhidur naikadhā tayoḥ |
Vidura said: As in former times the two brothers Vāli and Sugrīva, driven by desire for a woman, fought a great battle, so too did those two engage in a tree-fight that devastated the forest. After that, the rākṣasa hurled at Bhīma a blazing log, burning like a thunderbolt; but Bhīma, best of warriors, struck it away with his left foot and flung it back so that it fell upon the very rākṣasa himself. Then Kirmīra, in sudden fury, tore up a tree and, like Yama bearing his staff, rushed in that combat to attack Bhīma, the son of Pāṇḍu. Trees falling from their hands shattered in many ways.
विदुर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage contrasts two destructive impulses—lust (as in Vāli–Sugrīva) and anger (as in Kirmīra)—showing how uncontrolled desire and rage lead to ruin, even spilling into collateral harm such as the devastation of the forest. It implicitly commends steadiness and martial competence (Bhīma’s composure and skill) over impulsive aggression.
Kirmīra attacks Bhīma by hurling a blazing log; Bhīma kicks it away and sends it back onto the rākṣasa. Enraged, Kirmīra uproots a tree and charges like Yama with his staff. Their combat escalates into a ‘tree-fight’ that breaks and fells many trees, likened to the famed battle between the brothers Vāli and Sugrīva.