तान् सर्वान् पतितान् दृष्ट्वा भीतो दुर्योधनस् ततः ॥
अभ्यभाषत संक्रुद्धो राक्षसं घोरदर्शनम् ॥
आर्श्यशृङ्गिं महेष्वासं मायाविनम् अरिंदमम् ॥
वैरिणं भीमसेनस्य पूर्वं बकवधेन वै ॥
पश्य वीर यथा ह्य् एष फल्गुनस्य सुतो बली ॥
मायावी विप्रियं घोरम् अकार्षीन् मे बलक्षयम् ॥
त्वं च कामगमस् तात मायास्त्रे च विशारदः ॥
कृतवैरश् च पार्थेन तस्माद् एनं रणे जहि ॥
बाढम् इत्य् एवम् उक्त्वा तु राक्षसो घोरदर्शनः ॥
प्रययौ सिंहनादेन यत्रार्जुनसुतो युवा ॥
स्वारूढैर् युद्धकुशलैर् विमलप्रासयोधिभिः ॥
वीरैः प्रहारिभिर् युक्तः स्वैर् अनीकैः समावृतः ॥
निहन्तुकामः समरे इरावन्तं महाबलम् ॥
इरावान् अपि संक्रुद्धस् त्वरमाणः पराक्रमी ॥
हन्तुकामम् अमित्रघ्नो राक्षसं प्रत्यवारयत् ॥
तम् आपतन्तं संप्रेक्ष्य राक्षसः सुमहाबलः ॥
त्वरमाणस् ततो मायां प्रयोक्तुम् उपचक्रमे ॥
तेन मायामयाः कॢप्ता हयास् तावन्त एव हि ॥
स्वारूढा राक्षसैर् घोरैः शूलपट्टिशपाणिभिः ॥
ते संरब्धाः समागम्य द्विसाहस्राः प्रहारिणः ॥
अचिराद् गमयाम् आसुः प्रेतलोकं परस्परम् ॥
तस्मिंस् तु निहते सैन्ये ताव् उभौ युद्धदुर्मदौ ॥
संग्रामे व्यवतिष्ठेतां यथा वै वृत्रवासवौ ॥
tān sarvān patitān dṛṣṭvā bhīto duryodhanas tataḥ ||
abhyabhāṣata saṃkruddho rākṣasaṃ ghoradarśanam ||
ārśyaśṛṅgiṃ maheṣvāsaṃ māyāvinam ariṃdamam ||
vairiṇaṃ bhīmasenasya pūrvaṃ bakavadhena vai ||
paśya vīra yathā hy eṣa phalgunasya suto balī ||
māyāvī vipriyaṃ ghoram akārṣīn me balakṣayam ||
tvaṃ ca kāmagamas tāta māyāstre ca viśāradaḥ ||
kṛtavairaś ca pārthena tasmād enaṃ raṇe jahi ||
bāḍham ity evam uktvā tu rākṣaso ghoradarśanaḥ ||
prayayau siṃhanādena yatrārjunasuto yuvā ||
svārūḍhair yuddhakuśalair vimalaprāsayodhibhiḥ ||
vīraiḥ prahāribhir yuktaḥ svair anīkaiḥ samāvṛtaḥ ||
nihantukāmaḥ samare irāvantaṃ mahābalam ||
irāvān api saṃkruddhas tvaramāṇaḥ parākramī ||
hantukāmam amitraghno rākṣasaṃ pratyavārayat ||
tam āpatantaṃ saṃprekṣya rākṣasaḥ sumahābalaḥ ||
tvaramāṇas tato māyāṃ prayoktum upacakrame ||
tena māyāmayāḥ kḷptā hayās tāvanta eva hi ||
svārūḍhā rākṣasair ghoraiḥ śūlapaṭṭiśapāṇibhiḥ ||
te saṃrabdhāḥ samāgamya dvisāhasrāḥ prahāriṇaḥ ||
acirād gamayām āsuḥ pretalokaṃ parasparam ||
tasmiṃs tu nihate sainye tāv ubhau yuddhadurmadau ||
saṃgrāme vyavatiṣṭhetāṃ yathā vai vṛtravāsavau ||
Seeing them all fallen, Duryodhana grew afraid and, enraged, addressed the rakshasa of terrible appearance — the great archer Arshyashringi, the sorcerer, subduer of foes, the enemy of Bhimasena from the earlier killing of Baka: "See, hero, how this mighty son of Phalguna, master of illusion, has done me this dreadful harm — the destruction of my army. You can go wherever you wish, dear one, and are skilled in the weapon of illusion, and you bear enmity toward Partha; therefore slay him in battle." Answering, "So be it," the rakshasa of terrible appearance set out with a lion's roar to where the young son of Arjuna stood. He was surrounded by his own troops, skillful mounted warriors, fighters with gleaming spears, heroes on the attack, and he wished to kill the mighty Iravan in battle. But the enraged, swift and valiant Iravan, slayer of foes, blocked the path of the rakshasa who wished to kill him. Seeing Iravan advancing, the exceedingly mighty rakshasa hastened to employ illusion. By his magic he created just as many horses, mounted by terrible rakshasas bearing spears and maces in their hands. These two thousand furious attackers, having clashed together, swiftly sent one another to the world of the dead. When this army had perished, the two, both frenzied in battle, stood facing each other in the fight, like Vritra and Vasava.
b9280e8ded34 · published Jul 17, 2026, 9:46:25 PM UTC
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Against Iravan, Duryodhana seeks not justice but a matching dark power: illusion against illusion, old enmity against loyalty of blood. The battlefield thus sinks ever deeper from open combat into a world of magic, shifting forms, and deception.