Shloka 15
Adhyāya 86: Irāvān’s Lineage, Cavalry Clash, and the Māyā-Duel Ending in Irāvān’s Fall
युध्यतां हि तथा राजन् विशेषो न व्यदृश्यत । यततां शत्रुनाशाय कृतप्रतिकृतेषिणाम्
yudhyatāṃ hi tathā rājan viśeṣo na vyadṛśyata | yatatāṃ śatrunāśāya kṛtapratikṛteṣiṇām ||
Sañjaya sprach: „O König, als sie auf diese Weise kämpften, war kein Unterschied zwischen ihnen zu erkennen. Beide Seiten, entschlossen, den Feind zu vernichten, und begierig, Schlag um Schlag zu vergelten, bemühten sich, die Waffen des anderen abzuwehren; so erschienen sie im Vollzug der Schlacht einander gleich.“
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how, once driven by the aim of enemy-destruction and retaliation, opposing sides can become ethically and behaviorally indistinguishable in the heat of war—suggesting that vengeance tends to erase moral differentiation.
Sañjaya reports to King Dhṛtarāṣṭra that in the ongoing battle both parties were equally intent on killing foes and countering weapons; therefore, no visible superiority or difference between the two sides could be perceived at that moment.