Shloka 53
आरूबढैरयुद्धकुशलैरविमलप्रासयोधिभि: । वीरै: प्रहारिभिरययुक्ति: स्वैरनीकै: समावृत:,उसके साथ निर्मल प्रास नामक अस्त्रसे युद्ध करनेवाले संग्रामकुशल तथा प्रहार करनेमें समर्थ वीरोंसे युक्त बहुत-सी सेनाएँ थीं। उसके सभी सैनिक सवारियोंपर बैठे हुए थे। उन सबसे घिरा हुआ वह समरभूमिमें महाबली इरावान्को मार डालनेकी इच्छासे युद्धस्थलमें गया। महाराज! मरनेसे बचे हुए दो हजार उत्तम घोड़े उसके साथ थे
ārūḍhair yuddha-kuśalair vimala-prāsa-yodhibhiḥ | vīraiḥ prahāribhir ayuktaḥ svair anīkaiḥ samāvṛtaḥ ||
Sañjaya said: He was surrounded by his own divisions—warriors mounted on their steeds, skilled in battle and adept at fighting with the spotless prāsa (a spear-like missile). With heroes able to strike decisive blows, he advanced onto the battlefield, intent on slaying the mighty Irāvān. O King, with him were two thousand excellent horses that had survived the carnage.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse primarily serves as battlefield narration rather than direct moral instruction; ethically, it highlights how intention (the resolve to kill a specific foe) and organized martial capability drive the momentum of war, underscoring the grave, purposeful nature of kṣatriya combat.
Sañjaya describes a warrior advancing into the fight, surrounded by his own mounted troops skilled with the prāsa weapon, moving with the explicit aim of killing the powerful Irāvān, and accompanied by two thousand surviving horses.