Shloka 34
तथेति तत् प्रतिश्रुत्य भगवान् हव्यवाहन: । खाण्डवे तेन कालेन प्रजज्वाल दिधक्षया,“बहुत अच्छा” कहकर भगवान् हव्यवाहनने वैसा करनेकी प्रतिज्ञा की और उस समय खाण्डववनको जलानेके लिये वे प्रज्वलित हो उठे
tatheti tat pratiśrutya bhagavān havyavāhanaḥ | khāṇḍave tena kālena prajajvāla didhakṣayā ||
毗湿摩波耶那说：火神阿耆尼应声道“如是”，既已允诺应许，便在那一刻于旃陀婆（Khāṇḍava）森林中猛然炽燃，意在焚尽其林——此举昭示大火已不可逆转地开启，并将引出此段故事在道义与宇宙秩序上的深远后果。
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical weight of a pledged assent: once a divine or authoritative agent gives a promise (“tathā”), action follows decisively. It also frames destruction as purposeful within a larger cosmic narrative—Agni’s burning is not random but intentional, tied to prior causes and commitments.
Agni, addressed as Havyavāhana, agrees to what has been requested earlier and immediately flares up in the Khāṇḍava forest with the intention of burning it, marking the start of the Khāṇḍava conflagration episode.