Mahabharata 4.55.14 — Virata Parva, Adhyaya 55, Shloka 14
Adhyāya 55: Pārtha–Rādheya Saṃvāda and Tactical Exchange
Chapter 55
युगान्तसमये सर्व यथा स्थावरजड्रमम् । कालक्षयमशेषेण दहत्यग्रशिख: शिखी । तद्वत् पार्थो महाराज ददाह समरे रिपून्
yugāntasamaye sarvaṃ yathā sthāvarajaḍramam | kālakṣayam aśeṣeṇa dahaty agraśikhaḥ śikhī | tadvat pārtho mahārāja dadāha samare ripūn ||
വൈശമ്പായനൻ പറഞ്ഞു—മഹാരാജാവേ! യുഗാന്തസമയത്ത് കാലത്തിന്റെ സംവർതകാഗ്നി മുന്നോട്ടുചാടുന്ന ജ്വാലകളോടെ സ്ഥാവര-ജംഗമമായ എല്ലാം, ജഡമെന്നു തോന്നുന്നതുപോലും, നിശ്ശേഷം ദഹിപ്പിക്കുന്നതുപോലെ; അതുപോലെ ആ സമരത്തിൽ പാർത്ഥൻ അർജുനൻ ശത്രുക്കളെ ശരാഗ്നിയാൽ ദഹിപ്പിച്ചു.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse uses the image of end-of-age fire to show that when battle is joined, Arjuna’s force becomes overwhelming and seemingly inevitable—like Time’s destruction. Ethically, it underscores the Mahābhārata theme that kṣatriya action, once aligned with duty and circumstance, can carry a momentum that feels larger than personal anger, resembling an impersonal cosmic power.
Vaiśaṃpāyana describes Arjuna on the battlefield in the Virāṭa episode, devastating opposing warriors. The narration compares his arrow-strikes to a forward-rushing conflagration at cosmic dissolution, emphasizing the scale and intensity of his victory in combat.
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