Shloka 15
Adhyāya 86: Irāvān’s Lineage, Cavalry Clash, and the Māyā-Duel Ending in Irāvān’s Fall
युध्यतां हि तथा राजन् विशेषो न व्यदृश्यत । यततां शत्रुनाशाय कृतप्रतिकृतेषिणाम्,नरेश्वर! दोनों ही पक्षवाले अपने शत्रुका नाश करनेके लिये प्रयत्नशील थे। दोनों ही एक-दूसरेके अस्त्रोंका निवारण करनेकी इच्छा रखते थे। अतः युद्ध करते समय उनमें कोई अन्तर नहीं दिखायी देता था
yudhyatāṃ hi tathā rājan viśeṣo na vyadṛśyata | yatatāṃ śatrunāśāya kṛtapratikṛteṣiṇām ||
Sañjaya said: “O King, as they fought in that manner, no distinction could be seen between them. Both sides, intent on destroying their enemies and eager to repay blow for blow, strove to counter one another’s weapons; thus, in the very act of battle, they appeared alike.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how, once driven by the aim of enemy-destruction and retaliation, opposing sides can become ethically and behaviorally indistinguishable in the heat of war—suggesting that vengeance tends to erase moral differentiation.
Sañjaya reports to King Dhṛtarāṣṭra that in the ongoing battle both parties were equally intent on killing foes and countering weapons; therefore, no visible superiority or difference between the two sides could be perceived at that moment.