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
yudhyatāṃ hi tathā rājan viśeṣo na vyadṛśyata | yatatāṃ śatrunāśāya kṛtapratikṛteṣiṇām ||
三阇耶说道：“大王啊，他们那般交战时，竟看不出彼此有何高下之别。两军都一心欲灭敌，且渴望以击还击，竭力化解对方兵器；因此在厮杀之际，他们显得势均力敌。”
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.