Shloka 22
अध्याय ४ — दुर्योधनस्य असंधि-निश्चयः
Duryodhana’s Refusal of Reconciliation
तावकं तद् बलं राजन्नर्जुनो<स्त्रविशारद: । गहन शिशिरापाये ददाहाग्निरिवोल्बण:,“राजन! अर्जुन अस्त्रविद्यामें कुशल हैं, उन्होंने तुम्हारी सेनाको उसी प्रकार भस्म किया है, जैसे भयंकर आग ग्रीष्म-ऋतुमें बहुत बड़े जंगलको जला डालती है
tāvakaṁ tad balaṁ rājann arjuno 'straviśāradaḥ | gahanaṁ śiśirāpāye dadāhāgnir ivolbaṇaḥ ||
Sañjaya said: “O King, Arjuna—master of weapons—has consumed that army of yours, burning it down like a fierce fire that, at the end of winter, sets a dense forest ablaze.” The image underscores the overwhelming, almost elemental force of skilled warfare when guided by resolve, and it frames the destruction as swift and inexorable rather than merely personal hatred.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how mastery (astra-viśāradatā) and determined action can make a warrior’s force seem like a natural element—swift, consuming, and difficult to resist. Ethically, it reflects the Mahābhārata’s sober view of war: even when fought as kṣatriya-duty, its consequences are devastating and impersonal, like a wildfire.
Sañjaya reports to King Dhṛtarāṣṭra that Arjuna has routed and destroyed the Kaurava forces. He uses a vivid comparison: Arjuna’s onslaught is like a fierce fire at winter’s end burning a dense forest, conveying both scale and inevitability.