Shloka 2
यत्र यत्र च दृश्यन्ते प्राणिन: खाण्डवालया: । पलायन्त: प्रवीरौ तौ तत्र तत्राभ्यधावताम्,खाण्डववनमें रहनेवाले प्राणी जहाँ-जहाँ भागते दिखायी देते, वहीं-वहीं वे दोनों प्रमुख वीर उनका पीछा करते
yatra yatra ca dṛśyante prāṇinaḥ khāṇḍavālayāḥ | palāyantaḥ pravīrau tau tatra tatrābhyadhāvatām ||
Vaiśampāyana said: Wherever the living beings dwelling in the Khāṇḍava forest were seen fleeing, there and there those two foremost heroes rushed in pursuit. In the grim momentum of the Khāṇḍava burning, even the instinct to escape is met by relentless force, underscoring how violence in a sanctioned enterprise can still fall heavily upon the vulnerable.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the relentless mechanics of violent action: once a destructive undertaking is set in motion, even those merely trying to survive can be swept into its consequences. It invites ethical reflection on how heroic duty and sanctioned violence may still produce suffering for non-combatants.
During the Khāṇḍava episode, as the forest is being consumed, its inhabitants are seen fleeing in different directions. The two principal warriors (contextually Arjuna and Kṛṣṇa) rush wherever they see creatures escaping, pursuing them so that none can get away.