Shloka 59
वैश्वानरं यथा प्राप्य प्रतिदहाुन्ति वै जना:
vaiśvānaraṃ yathā prāpya pratidahanti vai janāḥ
Sañjaya dijo: «Así como los hombres, al encontrarse con el fuego abrasador de Vaiśvānara, quedan chamuscados y consumidos, del mismo modo quienes entran en contacto con esa fuerza devoradora hallan una destrucción inevitable.»
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse uses the image of Vaiśvānara (all-consuming fire) to convey inevitability: approaching a destructive power without the capacity to withstand it leads to certain ruin. Ethically, it underscores the consequence of confronting overwhelming force—whether through arrogance, misjudgment, or the momentum of war.
Sañjaya describes events on the battlefield through a vivid simile: those who come near a consuming force are burned, implying that warriors who engage a particular formidable opponent or situation are being cut down as inevitably as people are scorched by fire.