Shloka 57
Droṇa-parva Adhyāya 95 — Sātyaki’s Breakthrough and the Routing of Allied Contingents
निर्दहेदनलो5रण्यं यथा वायुसमीरित: । सेनारण्यं तव तथा कृष्णानिलसमीरित:
nirdahen analo'raṇyaṃ yathā vāyu-samīritaḥ | senāraṇyaṃ tava tathā kṛṣṇānila-samīritam ||
Sañjaya said: “Just as fire, fanned by the wind, burns down a forest, so too—stirred and driven by Kṛṣṇa as by a mighty wind—does that blazing force consume the ‘forest’ of your army. The image underscores how a leader’s guiding will can turn martial power into an overwhelming, morally consequential devastation.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that power becomes decisively effective—and dangerously destructive—when directed by a compelling guiding force. Kṛṣṇa’s leadership is likened to wind that intensifies fire: guidance and intent can magnify outcomes, raising ethical responsibility for the devastation that follows.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that the Kaurava forces are being consumed in battle as if they were a forest set ablaze. The cause is not mere brute strength alone, but the momentum and coordination ‘fanned’ by Kṛṣṇa’s presence and direction on the Pāṇḍava side.