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 dit : « Là, poussés par le décret du Dispensateur, des milliers de rois—tels des papillons de nuit se ruant vers la flamme—tombèrent d’eux-mêmes dans Bhīṣma, qui flamboyait comme un feu farouche. Embrasés de colère, ils se jetèrent dans cet incendie terrible pour n’y trouver que leur propre ruine. »
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.