Mahabharata — Anushasana Parva, Shloka 18
ब्रह्मसृष्टा हव्यभुज: कपान् हत्वा सनातना: | नभसीव यथाभ्राणि व्यराजन्त नराधिप,नरेश्वर! ब्राह्मणोंके छोड़े हुए सनातन अग्निदेव उन कपोंका संहार करके आकाशमें बादलोंके समान प्रकाशित होने लगे
brahmasṛṣṭā havyabhujaḥ kapān hatvā sanātanāḥ | nabhasīva yathābhrāṇi vyarājanta narādhipa ||
Bhīṣma nói: “Ôi bậc quân vương! Những Hỏa Thần vĩnh cửu—do Phạm Thiên sinh ra, kẻ thụ hưởng lễ vật—sau khi tiêu diệt bọn Kapā, liền rực sáng trên trời, như mây lấp lánh giữa không trung.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the sanctity and cosmic authority of sacrificial fire: as a Brahmā-born, eternal power that consumes offerings and removes hostile or obstructive forces, it restores radiance and order—suggesting that dharmic rites and purity have transformative, world-ordering effects.
Bhīṣma describes the eternal fire-gods (sacrificial fires) destroying a group called the Kapas; after this act, the fires appear brilliantly in the sky, compared to clouds shining in the heavens, addressing the king directly.