Shloka 30
Ādi Parva, Adhyāya 113 — Maryādā-sthāpana (Śvetaketu’s Boundary) and the Niyoga Deliberation of Pāṇḍu and Kuntī
त॑ शरौघमहाच्वालं शस्त्रार्चिषमरिन्दमम् | पाण्डुपावकमासाद्य व्यदह्युन्त नराधिपा:,उस समय शशत्रुदमन राजा पाण्डु प्रजजलित अग्निके समान सुशोभित थे। बाणोंका समुदाय उनकी बढ़ती हुई ज्वालाके समान जान पड़ता था। खड़्ग आदि शस्त्र लपटोंके समान प्रतीत होते थे। उनके पास आकर बहुतसे राजा भस्म हो गये
taṁ śaraugha-mahācchvālaṁ śastrārcīṣam arindamam | pāṇḍu-pāvakam āsādya vyadahyun ta narādhipāḥ ||
Vaiśampāyana said: Pāṇḍu shone like a blazing fire—his massed arrows forming a great, surging flame and his weapons flashing like tongues of fire. When those kings approached that ‘fire’ of Pāṇḍu, they were burned down—overwhelmed and destroyed by his irresistible martial power. The passage underscores how unchecked aggression and pride in battle meet their ethical consequence when confronted by superior strength aligned with rightful kingship.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse uses the fire metaphor to show that martial force, when embodied by a rightful and formidable king, becomes an inescapable consequence for hostile rulers who advance in arrogance or aggression; it hints at the ethical idea that violent intent can rebound upon its agents when they confront superior, dharma-backed power.
Vaiśampāyana describes Pāṇḍu in battle: his volleys of arrows look like a great blaze and his weapons like flames; many kings who come near him are ‘burned’—i.e., defeated and destroyed—by his overwhelming prowess.