Shloka 28
इन्द्रजिद्-लक्ष्मणयुद्धम्
Indrajit and Lakṣmaṇa: Escalation through Concealment
शिबीनिक्ष्वाकुमुख्यां श्व त्रिगर्तान् सैन्धवानपि । जघानातिरथ: संख्ये बाणगोचरमागतान्,उन अतिरथी वीरने युद्धमें बाणोंके लक्ष्य बने हुए शिबि, इक्ष्वाकु, त्रिगर्त और सिन्धुदेशके क्षत्रियोंको भी मार डाला
śibīn ikṣvākumukhyāṁś ca trigartān saindhavān api | jaghānātirathaḥ saṅkhye bāṇagocaram āgatān ||
Disse Vaiśaṃpāyana: No auge do combate, aquele grande guerreiro de carro (Atiratha) abateu até os mais ilustres entre os Śibis e os Ikṣvākus, bem como os Trigartas e os homens do Sindhu, quando entraram no alcance de suas flechas—tornando-se alvos diante dele.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the impartial brutality of war: once combatants enter the arrow’s range, even the most eminent lineages and renowned warriors can be cut down. It implicitly cautions that martial glory is inseparable from moral cost and human fragility.
Vaiśampāyana narrates that an exceptionally powerful chariot-warrior (called atiratha) kills warriors from several famed groups—Śibis, leading Ikṣvākus, Trigartas, and Saindhavas—when they come within his effective arrow-range on the battlefield.