Shloka 20
Adhyāya 86: Irāvān’s Lineage, Cavalry Clash, and the Māyā-Duel Ending in Irāvān’s Fall
ताभ्यां मुक्ता महावेगा: शरा: काउ्चनभूषणा: । दिवाकरपथं प्राप्प च्छादयामासुरम्बरम्,उन दोनोंके छोड़े हुए महान् वेगशाली सुवर्णभूषित बाणोंने सूर्यके पथपर पहुँचकर आकाशको आच्छादित कर दिया
tābhyāṃ muktā mahāvegāḥ śarāḥ kāñcanabhūṣaṇāḥ | divākarapathaṃ prāpya cchādayāmāsur ambaram ||
ศรที่ทั้งสองปล่อยออกไปนั้นพุ่งด้วยมหาแรงและประดับทอง ครั้นถึงวิถีแห่งสุริยะก็แผ่หนาแน่นราวกับปกคลุมท้องฟ้า
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the overwhelming force of warfare: human aggression and skill can become so intense that it appears to eclipse even the natural order (the sun’s course and the sky). Ethically, it serves as a reminder that martial power, though part of kṣatriya duty, carries vast consequences and can darken the world when driven by conflict.
Sañjaya describes a moment in battle where two warriors discharge arrows of tremendous speed, ornamented with gold. The arrows rise to the region of the sun’s path and spread so thickly that they seem to cover the sky, conveying the scale and ferocity of the exchange.