Mahabharata 4.55.14 — Virata Parva, Adhyaya 55, Shloka 14
Adhyāya 55: Pārtha–Rādheya Saṃvāda and Tactical Exchange
Chapter 55
युगान्तसमये सर्व यथा स्थावरजड्रमम् । कालक्षयमशेषेण दहत्यग्रशिख: शिखी । तद्वत् पार्थो महाराज ददाह समरे रिपून्
yugāntasamaye sarvaṃ yathā sthāvarajaḍramam | kālakṣayam aśeṣeṇa dahaty agraśikhaḥ śikhī | tadvat pārtho mahārāja dadāha samare ripūn ||
Sinabi ni Vaiśaṃpāyana: “O dakilang hari, kung paanong sa wakas ng isang yugto ang apoy na lumalamon sa lahat—ang apoy ng Panahon, na ang mga liyab ay sumusugod pasulong—ay sinusunog nang walang iniiwan ang lahat, gumagalaw man o hindi, maging yaong wari’y walang buhay; gayon din si Pārtha (Arjuna) sa labang iyon, na tinupok ang mga kaaway na para bang sa apoy na yari sa mga palaso.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse uses the image of end-of-age fire to show that when battle is joined, Arjuna’s force becomes overwhelming and seemingly inevitable—like Time’s destruction. Ethically, it underscores the Mahābhārata theme that kṣatriya action, once aligned with duty and circumstance, can carry a momentum that feels larger than personal anger, resembling an impersonal cosmic power.
Vaiśaṃpāyana describes Arjuna on the battlefield in the Virāṭa episode, devastating opposing warriors. The narration compares his arrow-strikes to a forward-rushing conflagration at cosmic dissolution, emphasizing the scale and intensity of his victory in combat.
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