Shloka 4
सहदेव-राधेय-संग्रामः; शल्य-प्रभावः; अलम्बुस-निवर्तनम्
Sahadeva and Karṇa; Śalya’s pressure; Alambusa’s interception
तदाप्रभूति मां शोको दहत्यग्निरिवाशयम् । ग्रस्तानिव प्रपश्यामि भूमिपालान् ससैन्धवान्,जबसे यह बात मुझे मालूम हुई है, तबसे शोक मुझे उसी प्रकार दग्ध कर रहा है, जैसे काष्ठसे पैदा होनेवाली आग अपने आधारभूत काष्ठको ही जला देती है। मैं सिंधुराज जयद्रथसहित समस्त राजाओंको कालके गालमें गया हुआ ही समझता हूँ
sañjaya uvāca | tadāprabhṛti māṃ śoko dahaty agnir ivāśayam | grastān iva prapaśyāmi bhūmipālān sa-saindhavān |
Sanjaya said: From that moment onward, grief has been burning me, as fire burns the very fuel on which it rests. I see the kings—together with the Sindhu ruler Jayadratha—as though already swallowed by Death. The verse conveys the moral weight of impending slaughter: once the tide of adharma-driven violence turns, even the mighty appear fated for ruin, and the witness is consumed by sorrow at the inevitable cost of war.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how the knowledge of impending adharma-fueled destruction consumes even the observer: grief burns from within like fire consuming its own support, underscoring the ethical tragedy and inevitability of war’s consequences.
Sanjaya reports his inner state to Dhritarashtra: after learning the crucial development in the battle, he is overwhelmed by sorrow and foresees the kings—especially Jayadratha along with others—as virtually already claimed by Death.