Shloka 14
उत्तरो बृहन्नडां सारथ्याय नियुङ्क्ते — Uttara Appoints Bṛhannadā as Charioteer
आवर्तय कुरून् जित्वा पशून् पशुमतां वर | निर्दहदेषामनीकानि भीमेन शरतेजसा,'पशुसम्पत्तिवाले समस्त राजाओंमें आप श्रेष्ठ हैं; अतः कौरवोंको परास्त करके अपने पशुओंको लौटा लाइये और बाणोंकी भयंकर अग्निसे इन कौरवोंकी सारी सेनाओंको भस्म कर डालिये
āvartaya kurūn jitvā paśūn paśumatāṃ vara | nirdahad eṣām anīkāni bhīmena śaratejasā ||
Vaiśaṃpāyana said: “O best among those rich in cattle, defeat the Kurus and bring back the herds. With Bhīma’s arrow-born brilliance, burn down their battle-formations.”
वैशमग्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights a kṣatriya-oriented ethic: stolen wealth (here, cattle) should be recovered through decisive action. At the same time, its language—urging the enemy host to be ‘burned’ by martial power—underscores the Mahābhārata’s recurring tension between rightful duty and the escalating destructiveness of war.
In the Virāṭa episode involving the cattle, the speaker urges the leader addressed as ‘best among cattle-owners’ to defeat the Kurus/Kauravas, recover the seized herds, and crush their military formations with Bhīma’s formidable, arrow-like fiery prowess.