Shloka 71
कृतयुगवर्णनम् तथा राजधर्मोपदेशः
Kṛtayuga Description and Instruction on Royal Dharma
निर्दहन् नागलोकं च यच्च किज्चित् क्षिताविह । अधस्तात् पृथिवीपाल सर्व नाशयते क्षणात्,राजन्! वह नागलोकको जलाती हुई इस पृथ्वीके नीचे जो कुछ भी है, उस सबको क्षणभरमें नष्ट कर देती है
nirdahan nāgalokaṃ ca yac ca kiñcit kṣitāv iha | adhastāt pṛthivīpāla sarvaṃ nāśayate kṣaṇāt rājan ||
Vaiśaṃpāyana said: “O king, scorching the realm of the Nāgas, that fire destroys in an instant everything that exists here upon the earth and also whatever lies beneath it.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores how unchecked destructive forces—especially those driven by anger or unleashed power—can rapidly annihilate not only visible life but also hidden, vulnerable realms. It implicitly warns rulers to restrain and avert such devastation.
Vaiśaṃpāyana describes to the king a fire (or fiery force) so intense that it burns the Nāga realm and, in an instant, destroys everything on the earth and even what lies beneath it, emphasizing the scale and immediacy of the catastrophe.