Shloka 16
Adhyāya 86: Irāvān’s Lineage, Cavalry Clash, and the Māyā-Duel Ending in Irāvān’s Fall
इरावांस्तु ततो राजन्ननुविन्दस्य सायकै: । चतुर्भिश्चतुरो वाहाननयद् यमसादनम्,राजन्! उस समय इरावानने अपने चार बाणोंद्वारा अनुविन्दके चारों घोड़ोंको यमलोक पहुँचा दिया
irāvāṁs tu tato rājann anuvindasya sāyakaiḥ | caturbhiś caturo vāhān anayad yamasādanam ||
قال سنجيا: ثم، أيها الملك، إن إيرافان أصاب بأربع سهام خيول أنوفيندا الأربع فصرعها، وأرسلها إلى دار ياما. ووفق أخلاق ساحة القتال القاسية، يعمد المحارب إلى تعطيل حركة العدو أولًا، فيقلب مجرى المعركة بقوةٍ حاسمةٍ موجَّهة لا بذبحٍ أعمى.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights a battlefield ethic within kṣatriya-dharma: force is applied with tactical purpose—here, disabling the opponent’s chariot team—showing how duty in war often operates through strategic, targeted actions that determine outcomes while remaining within the accepted codes of combat.
Sañjaya reports to the king that Irāvān shoots four arrows and kills Anuvinda’s four horses, effectively neutralizing Anuvinda’s chariot mobility and sending the horses ‘to Yama’s abode,’ a poetic way of stating that they were slain.