Shloka 286
Vāsudeva-Māhātmya: Duryodhana’s Inquiry and Bhīṣma’s Theological Account of Keśava
भीष्माग्निमभिसंक्रुद्धं विगाशाय सहस्रश: । वहाँ विधातासे प्रेरित होकर पतंगोंके समान सहस्रों राजा क्रोधमें भरे हुए भीष्मरूपी प्रचण्ड अग्निमें अपने विनाशके लिये स्वयं ही आ गिरते थे
bhīṣmāgnim abhisankruddhaṃ vigāśāya sahasraśaḥ | tatra vidhātṛṇā preritāḥ pataṅgān iva sahasraśo rājānaḥ krodhabhareṇa bhīṣmarūpaṃ pracaṇḍāgnim ātmavināśāya svayam eva nipetire |
Sañjaya dijo: “Allí, impulsados por el decreto del Dispensador, miles de reyes—como polillas que se precipitan hacia la llama—cayeron por su propia voluntad en Bhishma, que ardía como un fuego feroz. Encendidos de ira, se arrojaron a aquella terrible hoguera sólo para hallar su propia destrucción.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores how anger (krodha) clouds discernment and drives people toward self-destruction, while also portraying the inexorable pull of fate (vidhātṛ). Ethically, it warns that valor without restraint and right judgment can become a path to ruin.
Sañjaya describes the battlefield scene where numerous kings, enraged and compelled by destiny, repeatedly rush against Bhīṣma. Bhīṣma is depicted as a blazing, fierce fire, and the kings are compared to moths that fly into flame—falling into his onslaught and perishing.