Shloka 59
अर्जुनस्य शीघ्रप्रयाणं भीम-शकुनियुद्धं च
Arjuna’s Rapid Advance and the Bhīma–Śakuni Encounter
वैश्वानरं यथा प्राप्य प्रतिदहाुन्ति वै जना:
vaiśvānaraṃ yathā prāpya pratidahanti vai janāḥ
Sañjaya berkata: “Seperti orang-orang yang berhadapan dengan api Vaiśvānara yang menyala akan hangus terbakar, demikian pula siapa pun yang bersentuhan dengan daya yang melalap itu akan menemui kebinasaan yang tak terelakkan.”
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.