Shloka 17
युधिष्ठिरस्य धनंजय-प्रति गर्हा
Yudhiṣṭhira’s Reproach to Dhanaṃjaya
ज्वालामालापरिक्षिप्तो राज्ञो देहो व्यदृश्यत । युगान्ते दग्धुकामस्य संवर्ताग्नेरिवापर:,ज्वालामालाओंसे घिरा हुआ युधिष्ठिरका शरीर प्रलयकालमें जगत्को दग्ध करनेकी इच्छावाले द्वितीय संवर्तक अग्निके समान दिखायी देता था
jvālāmālā-parikṣipto rājño deho vyadṛśyata | yugānte dagdhukāmasya saṃvartāgner ivāparaḥ ||
Sinabi ni Sañjaya: Ang katawan ng hari ay waring napalilibutan ng kuwintas ng apoy, na parang ikalawang apoy na Saṃvartaka—ang apokaliptikong liyab sa wakas ng isang yugto, na nagnanais sunugin ang daigdig.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse uses yugānta (end-of-age) fire as a simile to convey how, in the extremity of war, a ruler’s presence can become terrifyingly destructive. It cautions that even a king associated with dharma may appear as an agent of cosmic-scale ruin when conflict reaches its peak.
Sañjaya describes to Dhṛtarāṣṭra a battlefield vision: the king’s body is seen ringed by flames, and he looks like a second Saṃvartaka fire. The narration heightens the scene’s intensity and signals a moment of overwhelming martial energy and impending devastation.