Shloka 36

Adhyāya 86: Irāvān’s Lineage, Cavalry Clash, and the Māyā-Duel Ending in Irāvān’s Fall

Devanagari script

प्राग्ज्योतिषपुरके नरेशने कुपित हो उस राक्षसपर चौदह तोमर चलाये, परंतु उसने समरभूमिमें उन सबको काट दिया ।।

Transliteration

sa tāṁś chittvā mahābāhus tomarān niśitaiḥ śaraiḥ | bhagadattaṁ ca vivyādha saptatyā kaṅkapatribhiḥ ||

Translation

ಆ ತೋಮರಗಳನ್ನು ತೀಕ್ಷ್ಣ ಬಾಣಗಳಿಂದ ಕತ್ತರಿಸಿದ ಮಹಾಬಾಹು ಘಟೋತ್ಕಚನು, ಕಂಕಪತ್ರಗಳಿಂದ ಅಲಂಕರಿತವಾದ ಎಪ್ಪತ್ತು ಬಾಣಗಳಿಂದ ಭಗದತ್ತನನ್ನೂ ವಿದ್ಧನು.

Word by Word

• {'saḥ': 'he', 'tān': 'those (objects previously mentioned)', 'chittvā': 'having cut down, having severed', 'mahābāhuḥ': 'mighty-armed

• epithet of a powerful warrior', 'tomarān': 'tomaras

• javelins/spears (thrown weapons)', 'niśitaiḥ': 'sharp, whetted', 'śaraiḥ': 'with arrows', 'bhagadattam': 'Bhagadatta (king of Prāgjyotiṣa)', 'ca': 'and', 'vivyādha': 'pierced, wounded, struck', 'saptatyā': 'with seventy', 'kaṅkapatribhiḥ': 'with (arrows) having kaṅka-feathers

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sanjaya
• Ghaṭotkaca
• Bhagadatta
• Prāgjyotiṣapura
• tomara (javelin)
• śara (arrow)
• kaṅka-patra (heron-feather fletching)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights disciplined effectiveness in warfare: the ability to neutralize incoming harm (cutting the javelins) and then act decisively. Ethically, it reflects the Mahābhārata’s recurring tension—martial excellence and duty-driven combat can coexist with intense anger, yet the warrior is judged by control, precision, and adherence to the battle-code rather than mere rage.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Bhīṣma Parva battle account, Ghaṭotkaca counters Bhagadatta’s attack: he slices apart the thrown tomaras with sharp arrows and then wounds Bhagadatta with seventy heron-fletched arrows, marking a forceful turn in their exchange.