Shloka 60
Kubera’s Arrival and the Disclosure of Agastya’s Curse
Vaiśaṃpāyana–Janamejaya Narrative
तद् वृक्षयुद्धमभवन्महीरुहविनाशनम् | बालिसुग्रीवयो भ्रात्रो: पुरा स्त्रीकाड्क्षिणोर्यथा,जैसे पूर्वकालमें स्त्रीकी इच्छावाले दो भाई बालि और सुग्रीवर्में भयंकर संग्राम हुआ था, उसी प्रकार भीमसेन और राक्षसमें होने लगा। उन दोनोंका वह वृक्षयुद्ध उस वनके वृक्षसमूहोंके लिये महान् विनाशकारी सिद्ध हुआ
tad vṛkṣayuddham abhavan mahīruha-vināśanam | bāli-sugrīvayoḥ bhrātroḥ purā strī-kāṅkṣiṇor yathā ||
Vaiśampāyana said: Then there arose a battle with trees, devastating to the great forest-lords. It was like the fierce combat of the two brothers Vāli and Sugrīva in former times, when both were driven by desire for a woman; in the same way, the fight between Bhīmasena and the rākṣasa began, and their tree-fighting proved ruinous to the grove’s mass of trees.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how uncontrolled passion and violent rivalry—exemplified by the old conflict of Vāli and Sugrīva—can lead to widespread collateral damage, here symbolized by the destruction of the forest itself.
A fierce combat begins between Bhīmasena and a rākṣasa in which they uproot and wield trees as weapons; the narrator compares its ferocity to the ancient battle between the brothers Vāli and Sugrīva, and notes the heavy devastation inflicted on the forest.