Shloka 40
Adhyāya 86: Irāvān’s Lineage, Cavalry Clash, and the Māyā-Duel Ending in Irāvān’s Fall
उस शक्तिमें सोनेका डंडा लगा हुआ था। वह अत्यन्त वेगशालिनी थी। उसे सहसा आती देख राजा भगदत्तने उसके तीन टुकड़े कर डाले। फिर वह पृथ्वीपर बिखर गयी ।।
śaktiṁ vinihatāṁ dṛṣṭvā haiḍimbaḥ prādravad bhayāt | yathendrasya raṇāt pūrvaṁ namucir daityasattamaḥ ||
An jener śakti war ein goldener Schaft befestigt; sie war von äußerster Schnelligkeit. Als König Bhagadatta sie plötzlich herankommen sah, hieb er sie in drei Stücke, und sie zerstreute sich über die Erde. Als Haiḍimbas Sohn, Ghaṭotkaca, seine śakti zerschmettert sah, floh er vor Furcht—wie einst Namuci, der Vornehmste der Dānavas, in alter Zeit vor Indra vom Schlachtfeld floh.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the moral-psychological reality of warfare: when a decisive weapon is broken and confidence collapses, even a formidable fighter may retreat. By comparing Ghaṭotkaca’s flight to Namuci’s legendary retreat before Indra, the text uses an exemplum to mark fear-driven withdrawal as a recognized (though not celebrated) battlefield response.
After Bhagadatta breaks the incoming śakti into pieces, Ghaṭotkaca (called Haiḍimba) sees his weapon destroyed and runs away in fear. Sañjaya narrates this to Dhṛtarāṣṭra, adding a mythic comparison: Namuci once fled the battlefield before Indra.