Shloka 26
मातापितृपूजन-प्रधानधर्मः (Primacy of Filial Service) — Mārkaṇḍeya’s Account of the Vyādha’s Instruction
आस्याद् वमन् पावकं स संवर्तकसमं तदा । तान् सर्वान् नृपते: पुत्रानदहत् स्वेन तेजसा,तत्पश्चात् उसने अपने मुँहसे प्रलयकालीन अग्निके समान आगकी चिनगारियाँ उगलना आरम्भ किया और उन समस्त राजकुमारोंको अपने तेजसे जलाकर भस्म कर दिया
āsyād vaman pāvakaṃ sa saṃvartakasamaṃ tadā | tān sarvān nṛpateḥ putrān adahat svena tejasā ||
Mārkaṇḍeya said: Then he began to vomit forth from his mouth sparks of fire, like the world-ending blaze at the time of dissolution; and with his own fiery energy he burned to ashes all those princes—the king’s sons.
मार्कण्डेय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical principle that unrighteous aggression and arrogance can provoke swift and disproportionate consequences; ‘tejas’ here functions as moral-cosmic power that enforces order when dharma is violated.
In Mārkaṇḍeya’s narration, a powerful being emits world-ending-like fire from his mouth and, through his own tejas, incinerates all the princes (the king’s sons).