Shloka 30
यस्य निर्दहतः सेनां गतिरग्नेरिवाभवत् | स भूमौ निहतः शेते शान्तार्चिरिव पावक:,शत्रुओंकी सेनाको दग्ध करते समय जिनकी गति अग्निके समान होती थी, वे ही बुझी हुई लपटोंवाली आगके समान मरकर पृथ्वीपर पड़े हैं
yasya nirdahataḥ senāṃ gatir agner ivābhavat | sa bhūmau nihataḥ śete śāntārcir iva pāvakaḥ ||
Vaiśampāyana said: “He whose onrush, while burning the enemy host, was like the very course of fire—he now lies slain upon the earth, like a fire whose flames have been quenched.” The verse underscores the moral reversal of war: even the most formidable power, once used to consume armies, ends in silence and stillness, inviting reflection on the futility of pride and the inevitability of death.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches the transience of martial glory: the same force that once seemed unstoppable—like fire consuming an army—ends as lifeless stillness. It invites ethical reflection on the cost of violence and the inevitability of death that levels all power.
In the lament-filled aftermath of the Kurukṣetra war (Strī Parva), the narrator describes a mighty warrior who once devastated enemy forces with fire-like speed and power, now lying dead on the battlefield, compared to a fire whose flames have been extinguished.