Shloka 11
Adhyāya 86: Irāvān’s Lineage, Cavalry Clash, and the Māyā-Duel Ending in Irāvān’s Fall
पूर्वाह्ने तु महाराज प्रावर्तत जनक्षय: । त॑ त्वमेकमना भूत्वा शृणु देवासुरोपमम्,महाराज! उस दिन पूर्वह्नकालमें बड़ा भारी जनसंहार हुआ था। आप एकचित्त होकर देवासुर-संग्रामके समान उस भयंकर युद्धका वृत्तान्त सुनिये
sañjaya uvāca |
pūrvāhne tu mahārāja prāvartata janakṣayaḥ |
taṁ tvam ekamanā bhūtvā śṛṇu devāsuro-pamam ||
Sañjaya sprach: „O großer König, am Vormittag begann ein gewaltiges Menschensterben. Darum sammle deinen Geist zu einspitziger Aufmerksamkeit und höre den Bericht von jener schrecklichen Schlacht, der dem Krieg zwischen Göttern und Asuras gleicht.“
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames ethical listening: the king is urged to hear with a steady, undistracted mind, because the subject is grave—mass death in war. The comparison to the devas–asuras conflict underscores the moral and existential weight of the events.
Sañjaya begins reporting that, during the forenoon, a major slaughter commenced on the battlefield. He invites Dhṛtarāṣṭra to listen attentively to the terrifying course of the fighting, likened to a divine–demonic war.