Shloka 15
Udyoga-parva Adhyāya 47 — Arjuna’s Deterrent Declaration
Sañjaya’s Report
कृष्णवर्त्मेंव ज्वलित: समिद्धो यथा दहेत् कक्षमन्निर्निंदाघे । एवं दग्धा धार्तराष्ट्रस्य सेनां युधिष्ठिर: क्रोधदीप्तो<न्ववेक्ष्य
sañjaya uvāca | kṛṣṇavartmeva jvalitaḥ samiddho yathā dahet kakṣam agnir nidāghe | evaṃ dagdhā dhārtarāṣṭrasya senāṃ yudhiṣṭhiraḥ krodhadīpto 'nvavekṣya ||
Sinabi ni Sañjaya: “Gaya ng apoy sa tindi ng tag-init—na ang landas ay tinatandaan ng maitim na usok—kapag ganap na naglalagablab, sinusunog ang tuyong damo at masukal na palumpong; gayon din si Yudhiṣṭhira, na nag-aalab sa poot, ay susunog sa hukbo ni Dhṛtarāṣṭra sa pamamagitan lamang ng kanyang sulyap.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse warns that even a normally restrained, dharma-oriented leader can become devastating when provoked: anger, when kindled in one who possesses moral authority and royal power, can turn into an unstoppable force—like summer fire consuming dry brush—thereby urging prudence, restraint, and timely reconciliation before destruction becomes inevitable.
Sañjaya, reporting events and moods in the Udyoga Parva’s pre-war negotiations, describes Yudhiṣṭhira’s wrath as so intense that the Kaurava host would be ‘burnt’ merely by his look—an emphatic simile forecasting the coming devastation if the conflict is not averted.