Agni Requests Krishna and Arjuna's Help to Burn Khandava
Agni, the fire god disguised as a voracious brahmana, approaches Krishna and Arjuna. He reveals his true form and his hunger to consume the Khandava forest, a desire thwarted for years by Indra’s protective rains. He asks the two warriors for their help in a task that will require divine weapons they do not yet possess.
A brahmana approached Krishna and Arjuna near the edge of the Khandava tract. He was not an ordinary man. His hunger was immense, and he presented himself as a voracious eater who consumed unlimited quantities. He bowed to the two warriors and made a simple request: “You two, who are now so near the Khandava tract, are supreme in the world. I am a voracious brahmana who always eats unlimited quantities. O descendants of Vrishni and Pritha! I beg you. Give me enough food to satisfy myself.”
Krishna and Arjuna, ever ready to honor a petitioner, asked him what kind of food would bring him satisfaction, promising to try and bring it.
The brahmana’s answer changed the nature of the request entirely. “I do not eat ordinary food,” he said. “Know me to be the fire.” He was Agni, the god of fire, and the food he desired was appropriate to his nature. He pointed to the vast Khandava forest. This was the meal he craved, but it was a meal he had been denied for a long time.
The forest was under divine protection. Indra, the king of the gods and wielder of the vajra (thunderbolt), guarded it. His friend, the naga (serpent-being) Takshaka, lived there with his kin, and Indra’s protection extended to him and, incidentally, to all the other creatures dwelling within Khandava. Every time Agni flared up, wishing to consume the woods, Indra would summon clouds and pour down floods of rain to douse the flames. “Though I earnestly wish to consume it, I cannot thus burn it down,” Agni explained.
He had come to Krishna and Arjuna because they were skilled in the use of arms. He needed their help to restrain Indra’s showers and the creatures that would flee the blaze. “I will now be able to burn Khandava down,” he said, “and that is the food I desire from you. You know about supreme weapons. Restrain the showers on all sides. Restrain all the creatures.”
Arjuna, also known as Bibhatsu, listened to the fire god’s plea. He was willing to help. But he was also a practical warrior. He told Agni, who wished to burn down Khandava despite being restrained by Shatakratu (Indra), that while he possessed many excellent and divine weapons capable of fighting many wielders of the vajra, he lacked the specific tools for this cosmic task.
He listed what was missing: a bow strong enough to bear the full strength and speed of his arms; an inexhaustible supply of arrows to match that speed; a divine chariot that could carry all those arrows, shine with solar energy, and thunder like the clouds; and divine horses, white and swift as the wind. He also pointed out that Krishna, Madhava, lacked a weapon equal to his own valour, one that could kill the nagas and demons they would face in battle.
Arjuna’s agreement was conditional. “O illustrious one! Tell us the means so that we may be successful and are able to restrain Indra from raining down on this extensive forest. O fire! We are ready to act according to our prowess. O illustrious one! But you should give us the means that can support us.” The stage was set. The warriors were willing, but the success of Agni’s hunger depended on the fire god himself providing the instruments of the forest’s destruction.