Shloka 16
Adhyāya 86: Irāvān’s Lineage, Cavalry Clash, and the Māyā-Duel Ending in Irāvān’s Fall
इरावांस्तु ततो राजन्ननुविन्दस्य सायकै: । चतुर्भिश्चतुरो वाहाननयद् यमसादनम्,राजन्! उस समय इरावानने अपने चार बाणोंद्वारा अनुविन्दके चारों घोड़ोंको यमलोक पहुँचा दिया
irāvāṁs tu tato rājann anuvindasya sāyakaiḥ | caturbhiś caturo vāhān anayad yamasādanam ||
سنجے نے کہا—پھر، اے راجن! ایراوان نے چار تیروں سے اَنُوِند کے چاروں گھوڑوں کو گرا کر یم کے دھام کی طرف روانہ کر دیا۔
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights a battlefield ethic within kṣatriya-dharma: force is applied with tactical purpose—here, disabling the opponent’s chariot team—showing how duty in war often operates through strategic, targeted actions that determine outcomes while remaining within the accepted codes of combat.
Sañjaya reports to the king that Irāvān shoots four arrows and kills Anuvinda’s four horses, effectively neutralizing Anuvinda’s chariot mobility and sending the horses ‘to Yama’s abode,’ a poetic way of stating that they were slain.