Shloka 20

Saṃvaraṇa–Tapatī Vivāhaḥ (The Marriage of Saṃvaraṇa and Tapatī) — Mahābhārata, Ādi Parva 163

Devanagari script

तद्‌ वृक्षयुद्धम भवन्महीरुहविनाशनम्‌ । घोररूपं महाराज नरराक्षसराजयो:,महाराज! नरराज तथा राक्षसराजका वह भयंकर वृक्षयुद्ध उस वनके समस्त वृक्षोंके विनाशका कारण बन गया

Transliteration

tad vṛkṣayuddham abhavan mahīruhavināśanam | ghorarūpaṃ mahārāja nara-rākṣasa-rājayoḥ ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana dit : Ce combat mené à coups d’arbres devint la destruction des grands arbres de la forêt. Ô roi, ce fut une rencontre effroyable entre le roi des hommes et le roi des rākṣasa, si furieuse qu’elle ravagea le bois lui-même.

Word by Word

तत्that

वृक्ष-युद्धम्the battle with trees

अभवत्became / happened

महीरुह-विनाशनम्destroying the trees

घोर-रूपम्of dreadful form

महा-राजO great king

नर-राक्षस-राजयोःof the king of men and the king of rākṣasas

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Mahārāja (the king addressed, i.e., Janamejaya)

nara-rāja (human king, unnamed here)

rākṣasa-rāja (rākṣasa king, unnamed here)

forest trees (mahīruha)

vṛkṣa (trees used as weapons)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Unchecked fury in battle does not remain confined to the opponents; it spreads outward, causing needless destruction—here symbolized by the devastation of the forest itself. The verse implicitly cautions rulers and warriors that power without restraint harms the wider world.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana describes a terrifying fight between a human king and a rākṣasa king in which they use trees as weapons. The struggle is so violent that it results in the ruin of the forest’s great trees.