Shloka 15
Udyoga-parva Adhyāya 47 — Arjuna’s Deterrent Declaration
Sañjaya’s Report
कृष्णवर्त्मेंव ज्वलित: समिद्धो यथा दहेत् कक्षमन्निर्निंदाघे । एवं दग्धा धार्तराष्ट्रस्य सेनां युधिष्ठिर: क्रोधदीप्तो<न्ववेक्ष्य
sañjaya uvāca | kṛṣṇavartmeva jvalitaḥ samiddho yathā dahet kakṣam agnir nidāghe | evaṃ dagdhā dhārtarāṣṭrasya senāṃ yudhiṣṭhiraḥ krodhadīpto 'nvavekṣya ||
サञ्जयは言った。「夏の熱気の中、黒い煙を道標として燃えさかる火が、ひとたび勢いを得れば枯れ草と藪を焼き尽くすように、怒りに燃えるユディシュティラは、ただ視線を投げかけるだけで、ドゥリタラーシュトラの軍勢を焼き焦がすであろう。」
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse warns that even a normally restrained, dharma-oriented leader can become devastating when provoked: anger, when kindled in one who possesses moral authority and royal power, can turn into an unstoppable force—like summer fire consuming dry brush—thereby urging prudence, restraint, and timely reconciliation before destruction becomes inevitable.
Sañjaya, reporting events and moods in the Udyoga Parva’s pre-war negotiations, describes Yudhiṣṭhira’s wrath as so intense that the Kaurava host would be ‘burnt’ merely by his look—an emphatic simile forecasting the coming devastation if the conflict is not averted.