Shloka 6
Adhyāya 86: Irāvān’s Lineage, Cavalry Clash, and the Māyā-Duel Ending in Irāvān’s Fall
तथा तत् पौरुष॑ राजंस्तावकानां परंतप । प्राप्प पाण्डुसुतान् वीरान् व्यर्थ भवति संयुगे,परंतप! नरेश! जैसे देवनदी गंगाजीका जल स्वादिष्ट होकर भी महासागरके संयोगसे उसीके गुणका सम्मिश्रण हो जानेके कारण खारा हो जाता है, उसी प्रकार आपके पुत्रोंका पुरुषार्थ युद्धमें वीर पाण्डवोंतक पहुँचकर व्यर्थ हो जाता है
tathā tat pauruṣaṁ rājan tāvakānāṁ parantapa | prāpya pāṇḍusutān vīrān vyarthaṁ bhavati saṁyuge ||
Sañjaya said: “So too, O king, O scorcher of foes: the valor of your men, when it meets the heroic sons of Pāṇḍu in battle, becomes fruitless. Just as the sweet waters of the divine river Gaṅgā, upon joining the great ocean, lose their distinct sweetness and take on the ocean’s salinity, so does the effort of the Kaurava host, on reaching the Pāṇḍavas, get absorbed and nullified.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Mere effort or numerical strength does not guarantee success; when confronted by a superior force (here, the Pāṇḍavas’ heroism), the opponent’s valor can be rendered ineffective—like a river’s sweetness losing its distinctness upon merging into the sea.
Sañjaya reports to the king that the Kaurava warriors’ attempts in the ongoing battle are being neutralized upon meeting the Pāṇḍavas, emphasizing the Pāṇḍavas’ dominance through a vivid comparison.