Shloka 163
Virāṭa-parva Adhyāya 54 — Missile-Exchange and Tactical Redirection
Arjuna, Aśvatthāman, Karṇa
चचार संख्ये विदिशो दिशश्व दहन्निवाग्निर्वनमातपान्ते | उनमेंसे कुछ तो सोनेके कवच पहने थे और कुछ लोगोंने काले लोहेके बख्तर बाँध रखे थे। वे उस युद्धभूमिमें पड़े हुए हिमालयप्रदेशके विशालकाय गजराजोंके समान जान पड़ते थे। इस प्रकार संग्राममें शत्रुओंका संहार करनेवाले गाण्डीव-धारी वीरशिरोमणि नररत्न अर्जुन वहाँ सब दिशाओंमें इस प्रकार विचरने लगे, मानो ग्रीष्म-ऋतुमें दावानल सम्पूर्ण वनको दग्ध करता हुआ चारों ओर फैल रहा हो
cacāra saṅkhye vidiśo diśaś ca dahann ivāgnir vanam ātapānte |
Vaiśampāyana said: In that battle Arjuna ranged across the field—toward the intermediate quarters and the cardinal directions alike—like a blazing fire that, at the end of the hot season, spreads through a forest and consumes it.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the epic ideal that decisive action in a just cause—especially a kṣatriya’s duty to protect—can become irresistible in its effect. The fire-simile conveys both power and inevitability: when dharma-backed valor is unleashed, it spreads swiftly and breaks hostile resistance on all sides.
In the midst of combat, Arjuna moves rapidly across the battlefield, striking in every direction. The narrator compares his sweeping advance to a summer forest-fire that expands everywhere, consuming the forest.