Shloka 22
अध्याय ४ — दुर्योधनस्य असंधि-निश्चयः
Duryodhana’s Refusal of Reconciliation
तावकं तद् बलं राजन्नर्जुनो<स्त्रविशारद: । गहन शिशिरापाये ददाहाग्निरिवोल्बण:
tāvakaṁ tad balaṁ rājann arjuno 'straviśāradaḥ | gahanaṁ śiśirāpāye dadāhāgnir ivolbaṇaḥ ||
Санджая сказал: «О царь, Арджуна — искуснейший во владении оружием — испепелил твоё войско, как свирепый огонь в конце зимы, что охватывает густой лес и обращает его в пепел».
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how mastery (astra-viśāradatā) and determined action can make a warrior’s force seem like a natural element—swift, consuming, and difficult to resist. Ethically, it reflects the Mahābhārata’s sober view of war: even when fought as kṣatriya-duty, its consequences are devastating and impersonal, like a wildfire.
Sañjaya reports to King Dhṛtarāṣṭra that Arjuna has routed and destroyed the Kaurava forces. He uses a vivid comparison: Arjuna’s onslaught is like a fierce fire at winter’s end burning a dense forest, conveying both scale and inevitability.