Shloka 34
तथेति तत् प्रतिश्रुत्य भगवान् हव्यवाहन: । खाण्डवे तेन कालेन प्रजज्वाल दिधक्षया,“बहुत अच्छा” कहकर भगवान् हव्यवाहनने वैसा करनेकी प्रतिज्ञा की और उस समय खाण्डववनको जलानेके लिये वे प्रज्वलित हो उठे
tatheti tat pratiśrutya bhagavān havyavāhanaḥ | khāṇḍave tena kālena prajajvāla didhakṣayā ||
Vaiśampāyana berkata: Dengan mengucap, “Demikianlah,” Dewa Api (Agni), setelah menyatakan persetujuan dan berjanji, pada saat itu juga menyala marak di rimba Khāṇḍava dengan niat membakarnya—menandai permulaan kebakaran yang tidak dapat diputar balik, yang kelak membawa akibat moral dan kosmik bagi peristiwa tersebut.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical weight of a pledged assent: once a divine or authoritative agent gives a promise (“tathā”), action follows decisively. It also frames destruction as purposeful within a larger cosmic narrative—Agni’s burning is not random but intentional, tied to prior causes and commitments.
Agni, addressed as Havyavāhana, agrees to what has been requested earlier and immediately flares up in the Khāṇḍava forest with the intention of burning it, marking the start of the Khāṇḍava conflagration episode.