Shloka 10
Adhyāya 86: Irāvān’s Lineage, Cavalry Clash, and the Māyā-Duel Ending in Irāvān’s Fall
युद्धे सुकृतिनां लोकानिच्छन्तो वसुधाधिपा: । चमूं विगाहा युध्यन्ते नित्यं स्वर्गपरायणा:,वसुधाके नरेश युद्धमें पुण्यात्माओंके लोकोंकी इच्छा करते हुए शत्रुकी सेनामें घुसकर युद्ध करते हैं और सदा स्वर्गको ही परम लक्ष्य मानते हैं
sañjaya uvāca | yuddhe sukṛtināṁ lokān icchanto vasudhādhipāḥ | camūṁ vigāhya yudhyante nityaṁ svargaparāyaṇāḥ ||
Sañjaya said: Seeking, through battle, the worlds attained by the meritorious, the kings—lords of the earth—plunge into the enemy host and fight, ever holding heaven as their highest aim. The verse frames warfare as a chosen arena for kṣatriya rulers to pursue fame, merit, and posthumous reward, revealing the ethical tension between duty-driven valor and desire for heavenly attainment.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights a common kṣatriya ideal: rulers enter the thick of battle seeking the merit-born realms (lokas) and regarding svarga as the highest reward. It implicitly raises an ethical point about intention—valor and duty are praised, yet the motivation is also framed as desire for heavenly attainment.
Sañjaya describes the battlefield mindset of kings: they plunge into the opposing host and fight continuously, driven by the aspiration to gain the worlds of the virtuous and to reach heaven.