Shloka 386
जयद्रथवधः — The Slaying of Jayadratha
Sunset Vow and Curse-Condition
प्रापपन् यवनान् शीघ्र॑ं मन:ःपवनरंहस: । मन और वायुके समान वेगवाले उन उत्तम घोड़ोंने आकाशको पीते हुए-से चलकर युयुधानको शीघ्र ही यवनोंके पास पहुँचा दिया
prāpapan yavanān śīghraṁ manaḥ-pavana-raṁhasaḥ | manaḥ-vāyu-samāna-vegālais te varāśvā ākāśaṁ pīvant iva gatvā yuyudhānaṁ śīghram eva yavanānāṁ samīpaṁ prāpayām āsuḥ ||
Sañjaya said: The excellent horses, swift as thought and as the wind, seemed to drink the very sky as they sped along, and they quickly carried Yuyudhāna to the Yavanas. The verse heightens the war’s urgency by portraying speed and resolve as decisive forces that propel a warrior into the thick of battle.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores how determination and effective means (swift horses, decisive movement) shape outcomes in war; ethically, it highlights the relentless momentum of conflict and the way human intent is amplified by instruments of action.
Sañjaya describes Yuyudhāna being rapidly conveyed by exceptionally swift horses to the Yavanas, using a vivid simile—‘as if drinking the sky’—to convey the speed and intensity of battlefield movement.