Shloka 566
Adhyāya 18 — Sequential Duels and Formation Pressure
Ulūka–Yuyutsu; Śakuni–Sutasoma; Kṛpa–Dhṛṣṭadyumna; Kṛtavarmā–Śikhaṇḍin
न्यहनद् द्विषतां पूगान् गतासूनन्तको यथा । जैसे यमराज आयुरहित प्राणियोंके प्राण हर लेते हैं, उसी प्रकार धनुर्धरोंमें श्रेष्ठ पाण्ड्य युद्धस्थलमें नाना प्रकारके बाणोंद्वारा शत्रुसमूहोंका नाश कर रहे थे
nyahanad dviṣatāṃ pūgān gatāsūn antako yathā |
Sañjaya sprach: Wie Antaka—der Tod selbst—denen das Leben nimmt, deren Stunde gekommen ist, so mähte der Pāṇḍya, der Erste unter den Bogenschützen, auf dem Schlachtfeld Scharen von Feinden mit Salven verschiedenartiger Pfeile nieder. Das Bild betont die Unabwendbarkeit des Todes im Krieg und die furchterregende Wirksamkeit eines Kriegers, wenn Dharma zur Pflicht der Schlacht geworden ist.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse uses the simile of Antaka (Death) to highlight the inevitability of death in war and the relentless momentum of battle once it is joined. It also reflects the Mahābhārata’s ethical tension: even when fighting is framed as kṣatriya-duty, its outcome resembles impersonal fate—life is taken swiftly, as if by Death itself.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that the Pāṇḍya warrior, famed for archery, is devastating enemy formations on the battlefield, felling groups of foes with many kinds of arrows, comparable to Death taking away lives.