Shloka 62
Kubera’s Arrival and the Disclosure of Agastya’s Curse
Vaiśaṃpāyana–Janamejaya Narrative
तस्मिन् देशे यदा वृक्षा: सर्व एव निपातिता: । पुञज्जीकृताश्न शतश: परस्परवधेप्सया,भारत! जब उस प्रदेशके सारे वृक्ष गिरा दिये गये, तब एक-दूसरेका वध करनेकी इच्छासे उन महाबली वीरोंने वहाँ ढेर-की-ढेर पड़ी हुई सैकड़ों शिलाएँ लेकर दो घड़ीतक इस प्रकार युद्ध किया, मानो दो पर्वतराज बड़े-बड़े मेघखण्डोंद्वारा परस्पर युद्ध कर रहे हों। वहाँकी शिलाएँ विशाल और अत्यन्त भयंकर थीं। वे देखनेमें महान् वेगशाली वजच्धोंके समान जान पड़ती थीं। अमर्षमें भरे हुए वे दोनों योद्धा उन्हीं शिलाओंद्वारा एक-दूसरेको मारने लगे
tasmin deśe yadā vṛkṣāḥ sarva eva nipātitāḥ | puñjīkṛtāś ca śilāḥ śataśaḥ paraspara-vadhepsayā |
Disse Vaiśaṃpāyana: Quando, naquela região, todas as árvores já haviam sido derrubadas, os dois guerreiros de força imensa—decididos a matar-se mutuamente—apanharam montes de pedras, às centenas, e lutaram por algum tempo, como se dois senhores das montanhas arremessassem um contra o outro grandes massas de nuvens. As rochas dali eram enormes e terríveis em demasia, parecendo raios velozes; e, inflamados de ira, os dois combatentes golpearam-se com aquelas mesmas pedras.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how unchecked anger and the desire to kill can escalate conflict beyond ordinary limits—so much so that even the environment is stripped (trees felled) and improvised weapons (rocks) become instruments of destruction. It implicitly warns that wrath-driven violence dehumanizes combat and overwhelms restraint (dama), a key ethical concern in dharma discourse.
After all the trees in the area have been brought down, the two powerful fighters continue their duel by picking up and hurling or striking with heaps of large stones, each intent on killing the other. The scene is compared to two mountains battling with massive cloud-banks, emphasizing the scale and ferocity of the fight.