Shloka 29
Adhyāya 61: Saṃmohana-astra and the Kuru Withdrawal (संमोहनास्त्रं तथा कुरुनिवृत्तिः)
“आज देख लेना, जैसे प्रबल वेगसे आयी हुई जलकी बाढ़ किनारोंको काट-काटकर गिरा देती है, उसी प्रकार मैं कौरवदलके सैन्यसमूहोंको मार गिराऊँगा ।।
ajña dekh lena, yathā prabala-vegasa āyā huī jalakī bāḍha kinārān ko kāṭa-kāṭa kar girā detī hai, usī prakāraṃ ahaṃ kaurava-dalasya sainya-samūhān mārayiṣyāmi. dhvaja-vṛkṣaṃ pattitṛṇaṃ ratha-siṃha-gaṇāyutam | vanam ādīpayiṣyāmi kurūṇām astra-tejasā ||
آج دیکھ لینا— جیسے زور دار سیلاب کا پانی کناروں کو کاٹ کاٹ کر گرا دیتا ہے، ویسے ہی میں کَوروَوں کی فوج کے جتھوں کو گرا دوں گا۔ کَوروَوں کی سینا گویا ایک جنگل ہے—اس کے دھوَج درخت ہیں، پیادے گھاس پھونس، اور رتھ اس جنگل کے شیر۔ میں اپنے اسلحے کے شعلہ بار تَیج سے آج اس کَوروَ-جنگل کو آگ لگا کر راکھ کر دوں گا۔
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse uses vivid metaphors to convey the overwhelming momentum of martial resolve: an army can be imagined as a ‘forest’ that can be consumed by the ‘fire’ of weapon-power. Ethically, it highlights the kṣatriya ideal of decisive action and the rhetoric of vows in war, while also implicitly warning that massed power—like a flood or fire—brings sweeping, often uncontrollable destruction.
A warrior (reported by Vaiśampāyana) proclaims a fierce vow to annihilate the Kaurava forces. He compares his impending assault to a flood eroding riverbanks and to a fire that will burn a forest—identifying banners as trees, infantry as grass, and chariots as lions—announcing that he will ‘ignite’ the Kuru host with the brilliance of his weapons.