Shloka 56
शरार्चिषा गाण्डिवेनाहमेक: सर्वान् कुरून् बाह्निकांश्चवाभिहत्य । हिमात्यये कक्षगतो यथाग्नि- स्तथा दहेयं सगणान् प्रसह
sañjaya uvāca |
śarārciṣā gāṇḍīvenāham ekaḥ sarvān kurūn bāhlikāṃś caivābhihatya |
himātyaye kakṣagato yathāgniḥ tathā daheyaṃ sagaṇān prasaha ||
Санджая сказал: «Я один, с луком Гандивой, пылающим огнём стрел, поражу всех куру и бахликов вместе с их отрядами; и, как пожар, вспыхнувший в чащобе на исходе зимы, я силой обращу их всех в пепел.»
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how martial confidence can become totalizing—likened to wildfire—illustrating the epic’s ethical tension: kṣatriya duty demands battle, yet unchecked wrath and pride risk turning duty into indiscriminate destruction.
Sañjaya reports a warrior’s declaration of overwhelming intent: armed with the Gāṇḍīva and ‘flaming’ arrows, he claims he will single-handedly slay the Kurus and Bāhlikas with their forces, burning them like a fire spreading through dry thickets at winter’s end.