Shloka 566
Adhyāya 18 — Sequential Duels and Formation Pressure
Ulūka–Yuyutsu; Śakuni–Sutasoma; Kṛpa–Dhṛṣṭadyumna; Kṛtavarmā–Śikhaṇḍin
न्यहनद् द्विषतां पूगान् गतासूनन्तको यथा । जैसे यमराज आयुरहित प्राणियोंके प्राण हर लेते हैं, उसी प्रकार धनुर्धरोंमें श्रेष्ठ पाण्ड्य युद्धस्थलमें नाना प्रकारके बाणोंद्वारा शत्रुसमूहोंका नाश कर रहे थे
nyahanad dviṣatāṃ pūgān gatāsūn antako yathā |
三阇耶说道：如同安多迦——死亡本身——夺走寿尽之人的性命一般，般荼耶王，诸弓手之冠，在战场上以种种箭雨斩落成群敌众。此喻彰显战争中死亡的不可避免，也显出当“法”化为征战之责时，战士那令人战栗的效率。
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse uses the simile of Antaka (Death) to highlight the inevitability of death in war and the relentless momentum of battle once it is joined. It also reflects the Mahābhārata’s ethical tension: even when fighting is framed as kṣatriya-duty, its outcome resembles impersonal fate—life is taken swiftly, as if by Death itself.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that the Pāṇḍya warrior, famed for archery, is devastating enemy formations on the battlefield, felling groups of foes with many kinds of arrows, comparable to Death taking away lives.