Shloka 43
Adhyāya 86: Irāvān’s Lineage, Cavalry Clash, and the Māyā-Duel Ending in Irāvān’s Fall
मद्रेश्वरस्तु समरे यमा भ्यां समसज्जत | स्वस्रीयौं छादयांचक्रे शरौचै: पाण्डुनन्दनौ
madreśvaras tu samare yamābhyāṁ samasajjata | svasrīyauṁ chādayāṁ cakre śaraughaiḥ pāṇḍunandanau ||
Sañjaya sprach: Mitten im Getümmel des Kampfes stellte sich der Herr von Madra, Śalya, den Zwillingen—den „zwei Yamas“—Nakula und Sahadeva. Dann bedeckte er jene Söhne Pāṇḍus—seine eigenen Neffen—mit schnellen Salven von Pfeilen, bis sie von Geschossen umhüllt waren.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights a recurring Mahābhārata tension: personal bonds do not automatically override one’s adopted duty (svadharma) and allegiance in a righteous war. Śalya fights his own nephews, illustrating how battlefield obligation can conflict with family ties.
Sañjaya reports that Śalya, king of Madra, engages the twin brothers Nakula and Sahadeva (called ‘the two Yamas’) and overwhelms them by covering them with volleys of arrows during the battle.