Shloka 46
Sainyasaṅgraha and Bhāga-Vyavasthā (Forces Assembled and Rival Allocations) | सैन्यसंग्रह-भागव्यवस्था
कस्तांस्तरस्विनो भूय: संदीपयति पाण्डवान् | अर्चिष्मतो महेष्वासान् हविषा पावकानिव
kas tāṁs tarasvino bhūyaḥ sandīpayati pāṇḍavān | arcīṣmato maheṣvāsān haviṣā pāvakān iva, sañjaya |
Duryodhana berkata: “Sanjaya, ceritakan lagi di hadapanku siasat dan gerak-gerik para Pandawa. Siapakah kesatria itu yang berulang kali membakar semangat para Pandawa—para pemanah agung yang tangkas dan bercahaya—sebagaimana api menyala berkobar ketika diberi persembahan ghee?”
दुर्योधन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how conflict can be intensified by an instigator: powerful agents (the Pandavas) become even more formidable when repeatedly provoked—like fire fed by ghee—warning that words, counsel, and influence can ethically escalate war.
Duryodhana presses Sanjaya to recount the Pandavas’ current intentions and actions, and he pointedly asks who is the person repeatedly stirring them up, using the sacrificial-fire simile to convey rising martial fervor.