Shloka 22
Udyoga-parva Adhyāya 47 — Arjuna’s Deterrent Declaration
Sañjaya’s Report
तृणप्रायं ज्वलनेनेव दग्धं ग्रामं यथा धार्तराष्ट्रानू समीक्ष्य । पकक्वं सस्य॑ वैद्युतेनेव दग्धं परासिक्तं विपुलं स्वं बलौघम्
sañjaya uvāca | tṛṇaprāyaṃ jvalanen eva dagdhaṃ grāmaṃ yathā dhārtarāṣṭrānū samīkṣya | pakvaṃ sasyaṃ vaidyuten eva dagdhaṃ parāsiktaṃ vipulaṃ svaṃ balaugham |
サञ्जयは言った。「ドゥルヨーダナが、ドリタラーシュトラの子らがビーマセーナの憤怒の火に焼き尽くされ、藁葺きの家々の村が炎に呑まれて灰となるがごときさまを見、さらに自らの広大な軍勢が雷火に焦がされた熟穀のように散り乱れて滅びるのを見たとき――先陣の勇士は討たれ、兵は恐怖に背を向けて戦場を逃げ、勇気と豪胆は尽き、ビーマの武器の烈焔によって万物が灰燼に帰す――そのとき彼は、戦を選んだことを深く悔いるであろう。」
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the ethical weight of choosing war: pride and obstinacy lead to catastrophic loss, and only after witnessing ruin does the wrongdoer awaken to remorse. It warns that adharma-driven decisions bring predictable consequences—fear, collapse of morale, and irreversible destruction.
Sañjaya describes, in vivid similes, the future scene of Duryodhana seeing the Kauravas burned down by Bhīma’s fury and his own vast army scattered and destroyed like a ripe crop struck by lightning. The point is to foreshadow Duryodhana’s eventual regret for initiating and persisting in the conflict.