Shloka 78
Jarītā–Śārṅgā-saṃvāda: Ākhu-haraṇa and the Approach of Agni (आखुहरणं अग्न्यागमनश्च)
उत्तमं जवमास्थाय प्रदुद्राव हुताशन: । आगम्य खाण्डवं दावमुत्तमं वीर्यमास्थित: । सहसा प्राज्वलच्चाग्नि: क्रुद्धो वायुसमीरित:,“उस वनको जलानेके लिये तुम शीघ्र ही जाओ। तभी इस ग्लानिसे छुटकारा पा सकोगे।' परमेष्ठी ब्रह्माजीके मुखसे निकली हुई यह बात सुनकर अग्निदेव बड़े वेगसे वहाँ दौड़े गये। खाण्डववनमें पहुँचकर उत्तम बलका आश्रय ले वायुका सहारा पाकर कुपित अग्निदेव सहसा प्रज्वलित हो उठे
uttamaṃ javam āsthāya pradudrāva hutāśanaḥ | āgamya khāṇḍavaṃ dāvam uttamaṃ vīryam āsthitaḥ | sahasā prājvalac cāgniḥ kruddho vāyu-samīritaḥ |
Vaiśampāyana said: Assuming the highest speed, Hutāśana (Agni) rushed forth. Reaching the Khāṇḍava forest-conflagration, he took up supreme power; and, fanned by the wind, the enraged Fire suddenly blazed up. The episode underscores how a divine mandate, when joined with force and favorable conditions, becomes irresistible—yet it also hints at the moral tension of destructive power unleashed upon a living forest.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the overwhelming force of divinely sanctioned action: when intent (Agni’s resolve) combines with capability (vīrya) and enabling conditions (wind), the outcome becomes swift and unstoppable—inviting reflection on the ethical weight of power used for destruction.
Vaiśampāyana narrates that Agni, moving at great speed, reaches the Khāṇḍava forest and, empowered and angered, ignites into a sudden blaze, intensified by the wind—initiating the famous burning of Khāṇḍava.