Shloka 29
कुन्तीगर्भगोपनम् तथा मञ्जूषाप्रवाहः
Kuntī’s concealed childbirth and the river-borne casket
मुक्तमात्रेण रामेण दूराकृष्टेन भारत,युधिष्ठिर! श्रीरामद्वारा धनुषको दूरतक खींचकर छोड़े हुए उस बाणके लगते ही राक्षसराज रावण रथ, घोड़े और सारथिसहित इस प्रकार जलने लगा मानों भयंकर लपटोंवाली आगके लपेटमें आ गया हो
muktamātreṇa rāmeṇa dūrākṛṣṭena bhārata, yudhiṣṭhira! śrīrāmadvārā dhanuṣko dūrataka khīṃcakara choṛe hue us bāṇake lagate hī rākṣasarāja rāvaṇa ratha, ghoṛe aura sārathisahita isa prakāra jalane lagā mānoṃ bhayaṅkara lapaṭoṃvālī āgake lapeṭameṃ ā gayā ho
Mārkaṇḍeya said: “O Bhārata, O Yudhiṣṭhira! The moment that arrow—drawn far back and released by Śrī Rāma—struck, the rākṣasa-king Rāvaṇa began to burn along with his chariot, horses, and charioteer, as though he had been caught in the embrace of a fierce, flame-tongued fire.”
मार्कण्डेय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the epic ethic that adharma ultimately meets its consequence: when a righteous, divinely empowered hero acts in alignment with dharma, destructive wrongdoing cannot endure and is consumed—symbolized by Rāvaṇa burning the instant Rāma’s arrow strikes.
Mārkaṇḍeya narrates to Yudhiṣṭhira a scene from the Rāma–Rāvaṇa conflict: Rāma draws his bow fully and releases an arrow; upon impact, Rāvaṇa, together with his chariot, horses, and charioteer, is described as burning like one enveloped by a raging fire.