आद्रवन्तम् अभिप्रेक्ष्य राक्षसं युद्धदुर्मदम् ॥
इरावान् क्रोधसंरब्धः प्रत्यधावन् महाबलः ॥
समभ्याशगतस्याजौ तस्य खड्गेन दुर्मतेः ॥
चिच्छेद कार्मुकं दीप्तं शरावापं च पञ्चकम् ॥
स निकृत्तं धनुर् दृष्ट्वा खं जवेन समाविशत् ॥
इरावन्तम् अभिक्रुद्धं मोहयन्न् इव मायया ॥
ततो ऽन्तरिक्षम् उत्पत्य इरावान् अपि राक्षसम् ॥
विमोहयित्वा मायाभिस् तस्य गात्राणि सायकैः ॥
चिच्छेद सर्वमर्मज्ञः कामरूपो दुरासदः ॥
तथा स राक्षसश्रेष्ठः शरैः कृत्तः पुनः पुनः ॥
संबभूव महाराज समवाप च यौवनम् ॥
माया हि सहजा तेषां वयो रूपं च कामजम् ॥
एवं तद् राक्षसस्याङ्गं छिन्नं छिन्नं व्यरोहत ॥
इरावान् अपि संक्रुद्धो राक्षसं तं महाबलम् ॥
परश्वधेन तीक्ष्णेन चिच्छेद च पुनः पुनः ॥
स तेन बलिना वीरश् छिद्यमान इव द्रुमः ॥
राक्षसो व्यनदद् घोरं स शब्दस् तुमुलो ऽभवत् ॥
परश्वधक्षतं रक्षः सुस्राव रुधिरं बहु ॥
ततश् चुक्रोध बलवांश् चक्रे वेगं च संयुगे ॥
आर्श्यशृङ्गिस् ततो दृष्ट्वा समरे शत्रुम् ऊर्जितम् ॥
कृत्वा घोरं महद् रूपं ग्रहीतुम् उपचक्रमे ॥
संग्रामशिरसो मध्ये सर्वेषां तत्र पश्यताम् ॥
तां दृष्ट्वा तादृशीं मायां राक्षसस्य महात्मनः ॥
इरावान् अपि संक्रुद्धो मायां स्रष्टुं प्रचक्रमे ॥
तस्य क्रोधाभिभूतस्य संयुगेष्व् अनिवर्तिनः ॥
यो ऽन्वयो मातृकस् तस्य स एनम् अभिपेदिवान् ॥
स नागैर् बहुशो राजन् सर्वतः संवृतो रणे ॥
दधार सुमहद् रूपम् अनन्त इव भोगवान् ॥
ततो बहुविधैर् नागैश् छादयाम् आस राक्षसम् ॥
छाद्यमानस् तु नागैः स ध्यात्वा राक्षसपुंगवः ॥
सौपर्णं रूपम् आस्थाय भक्षयाम् आस पन्नगान् ॥
मायया भक्षिते तस्मिन्न् अन्वये तस्य मातृके ॥
विमोहितम् इरावन्तम् असिना राक्षसो ऽवधीत् ॥
सकुण्डलं समुकुटं पद्मेन्दुसदृशप्रभम् ॥
इरावतः शिरो रक्षः पातयाम् आस भूतले ॥
तस्मिंस् तु निहते वीरे राक्षसेनार्जुनात्मजे ॥
विशोकाः समपद्यन्त धार्तराष्ट्राः सराजकाः ॥
ādravantam abhiprekṣya rākṣasaṃ yuddhadurmadam ||
irāvān krodhasaṃrabdhaḥ pratyadhāvan mahābalaḥ ||
samabhyāśagatasyājau tasya khaḍgena durmateḥ ||
ciccheda kārmukaṃ dīptaṃ śarāvāpaṃ ca pañcakam ||
sa nikṛttaṃ dhanur dṛṣṭvā khaṃ javena samāviśat ||
irāvantam abhikruddhaṃ mohayann iva māyayā ||
tato 'ntarikṣam utpatya irāvān api rākṣasam ||
vimohayitvā māyābhis tasya gātrāṇi sāyakaiḥ ||
ciccheda sarvamarmajñaḥ kāmarūpo durāsadaḥ ||
tathā sa rākṣasaśreṣṭhaḥ śaraiḥ kṛttaḥ punaḥ punaḥ ||
saṃbabhūva mahārāja samavāpa ca yauvanam ||
māyā hi sahajā teṣāṃ vayo rūpaṃ ca kāmajam ||
evaṃ tad rākṣasasyāṅgaṃ chinnaṃ chinnaṃ vyarohata ||
irāvān api saṃkruddho rākṣasaṃ taṃ mahābalam ||
paraśvadhena tīkṣṇena ciccheda ca punaḥ punaḥ ||
sa tena balinā vīraś chidyamāna iva drumaḥ ||
rākṣaso vyanadad ghoraṃ sa śabdas tumulo 'bhavat ||
paraśvadhakṣataṃ rakṣaḥ susrāva rudhiraṃ bahu ||
tataś cukrodha balavāṃś cakre vegaṃ ca saṃyuge ||
ārśyaśṛṅgis tato dṛṣṭvā samare śatrum ūrjitam ||
kṛtvā ghoraṃ mahad rūpaṃ grahītum upacakrame ||
saṃgrāmaśiraso madhye sarveṣāṃ tatra paśyatām ||
tāṃ dṛṣṭvā tādṛśīṃ māyāṃ rākṣasasya mahātmanaḥ ||
irāvān api saṃkruddho māyāṃ sraṣṭuṃ pracakrame ||
tasya krodhābhibhūtasya saṃyugeṣv anivartinaḥ ||
yo 'nvayo mātṛkas tasya sa enam abhipedivān ||
sa nāgair bahuśo rājan sarvataḥ saṃvṛto raṇe ||
dadhāra sumahad rūpam ananta iva bhogavān ||
tato bahuvidhair nāgaiś chādayām āsa rākṣasam ||
chādyamānas tu nāgaiḥ sa dhyātvā rākṣasapuṃgavaḥ ||
sauparṇaṃ rūpam āsthāya bhakṣayām āsa pannagān ||
māyayā bhakṣite tasminn anvaye tasya mātṛke ||
vimohitam irāvantam asinā rākṣaso 'vadhīt ||
sakuṇḍalaṃ samukuṭaṃ padmendusadṛśaprabham ||
irāvataḥ śiro rakṣaḥ pātayām āsa bhūtale ||
tasmiṃs tu nihate vīre rākṣasenārjunātmaje ||
viśokāḥ samapadyanta dhārtarāṣṭrāḥ sarājakāḥ ||
Seeing the rakshasa, frenzied in battle, charging at him, the mighty Iravan, overcome with anger, ran to meet him. When the evil-minded rakshasa drew near in the clash, Iravan cut through his blazing bow and his five quivers with his sword. Seeing his bow severed, the rakshasa swiftly rose into the sky, as if to confound the enraged Iravan with illusion. Then Iravan too flew up into the air and, having confounded the rakshasa with his own illusions, cut his limbs with arrows — for he knew all the vital points, could take any form, and was hard to approach. Yet that finest of rakshasas, cut again and again by arrows, became whole once more, great king, and regained his youth. For illusion is innate to them: age and form arise at will. Thus the severed limbs of the rakshasa grew back again and again. The enraged Iravan hacked again and again at this mighty rakshasa with a sharp battle-axe. The rakshasa, like a tree being felled, howled dreadfully, and the sound became tumultuous. Wounded by the axe, the rakshasa bled profusely; then the mighty one grew furious and charged into the fight. Seeing a powerful enemy in the battle, Arshyashringi assumed a huge and terrible form and, before the eyes of all there, in the midst of the front-line clash, began trying to seize him. Seeing such illusion from the great-souled rakshasa, Iravan too, in fury, began to conjure illusion of his own. To him, overcome with anger and never retreating in battle, his mother's lineage came to his aid. Surrounded on all sides in battle by many nagas, he assumed a vast form, like the mighty Ananta, and then covered the rakshasa with serpents of many kinds. But as he was being covered by the nagas, the chief of the rakshasas, concentrating, assumed the form of Suparna and began devouring the serpents. When Iravan's maternal lineage had been devoured by illusion, the rakshasa slew the bewildered Iravan with his sword. The rakshasa cast to the ground Iravan's head, adorned with earrings and crown, radiant as the lotus and the moon. When this hero, the son of Arjuna, had been slain by the rakshasa, the sons of Dhritarashtra, together with their kings, became free of sorrow.
7efac3c66e77 · published Jul 17, 2026, 9:46:25 PM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
Iravan's death is tragic precisely because his strength is bound to his mother's kin: the nagas come to his aid, yet the rakshasa takes the form of their devourer. In a world of illusion, appearance itself becomes a weapon, and Iravan's valor cannot undo the foreordained fragility of bodily victory.