Shloka 39
Adhyāya 31: Rājasūya-samāgama — The Gathering of Kings and the Ordering of Hospitality
वर्जयन्ति च राजानस्तत् पुरं भरतर्षभ | भयादमग्नेर्महाराज तदाप्रभृति सर्वदा,भरतश्रेष्ठ जनमेजय! तभीसे सब राजा (जो इस रहस्यसे परिचित थे) अग्निके भयके कारण माहिष्मती-पुरीपर चढ़ाई नहीं करते थे
varjayanti ca rājānas tat puraṁ bharatarṣabha | bhayād agner mahārāja tadāprabhṛti sarvadā |
โอ้ผู้ประเสริฐแห่งภารตะ มหาราชา นับแต่นั้นมา เหล่ากษัตริย์ต่างหลีกเลี่ยงนครนั้นเสมอ ด้วยความหวาดกลัวต่อเพลิง
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how a powerful deterrent—here, the fear of fire—can shape political behavior over time: rulers refrain from aggression when the perceived cost is overwhelming, showing the long-lasting consequences of past events on collective decision-making.
Vaiśaṃpāyana tells King Janamejaya that, from a certain earlier incident onward, kings regularly avoided attacking or approaching that particular city because they feared a fiery danger associated with it.