Mahabharata — Shalya Parva, Shloka 35

Gadāyuddhe Kṛṣṇopadeśaḥ (Kṛṣṇa’s Counsel in the Mace-Duel) — Śalya-parva 57

Devanagari script

तौ दर्शयन्तौ समरे युद्धक्रीडां समनन्‍ततः

Transliteration

tau darśayantau samare yuddha-krīḍāṃ samanantataḥ

Translation

Sañjaya said: In the midst of battle, the two of them displayed the sport of war—an unbroken, continuous contest—making the battlefield itself a stage for relentless martial play.

Word by Word

• तौ: those two
• तौ: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Dual

• दर्शयन्तौ: showing, displaying
• दर्शयन्तौ: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: दृश् (दर्शयति)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Dual, शतृ (present active participle)

• समरे: in battle
• समरे: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: समर
• Form: Masculine, Locative, Singular

• युद्धक्रीडाम्: the sport/play of fighting
• युद्धक्रीडाम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: युद्धक्रीडा
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

• समनन्ततः: continuously; without interruption
• समनन्ततः: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: समनन्ततः

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse frames combat as ‘yuddha-krīḍā’—a stylized, skillful contest—highlighting the warrior ethos where prowess and endurance are displayed continuously; ethically, it underscores how war can be narrated as sport even while it remains a grave arena of duty and consequence.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes two combatants (not named in this half-verse) who, on the battlefield, keep up an uninterrupted display of fighting skill, as though engaging in a sustained martial game.