Shloka 276

Nakula–Śakuni Duel and the Night Battle; Śikhaṇḍin–Kṛpa Engagement (नकुल-शकुनियुद्धं तथा रात्रियुद्धवर्णनम्)

Devanagari script

व्यष्टम्भयेतामन्योन्यं प्राणद्यूताभिदेविनौ । प्राणोंकी बाजी लगाकर युद्धका जूआ खेलनेवाले वे दोनों वीर एक-दूसरेके अंगोंको विदीर्ण करते और खून बहाते हुए एक-दूसरेको रोकने लगे

Transliteration

vyaṣṭambhayetām anyonyaṃ prāṇadyūtābhidevinau | prāṇān kī bājī lagākara yuddha-kā jūā khelanevāle ve donoṃ vīra eka-dūsare-ke aṅgoṃ-ko vidīrṇa karate aura khūna bahāte hue eka-dūsare-ko rokane lage |

Translation

قال سنجيا: كان هذان البطلان كأنهما إلهان يشرفان على رهانٍ قاتمٍ تكون فيه الحياة نفسها هي الرهان، فراح كلٌّ منهما يصدّ الآخر. يمزّقان الأعضاء ويسفكان الدم، ويقاتلان ليوقف أحدهما تقدّم صاحبه.

Word by Word

• व्यष्टम्भयेताम्: they two checked/stopped (each other)
• व्यष्टम्भयेताम्: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: स्तम्भ् (धातु)
• Form: लङ् (imperfect), परस्मैपदम्, प्रथम, द्विवचनम्

• अन्योन्यम्: each other, mutually
• अन्योन्यम्: Karma
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अन्योन्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: परस्परार्थक-अव्यय

• प्राणद्यूताभिदेविनौ: the two who were gamblers staking their lives (in battle)
• प्राणद्यूताभिदेविनौ: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्राण-द्यूत-अभिदेविन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, द्विवचनम्

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• two warriors (unnamed in this verse)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse frames battle as a perilous 'wager' where life is the stake, highlighting the ethical bleakness of war: even valor becomes entangled with destructive compulsion, and victory is pursued at the cost of blood and breath.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes two opposing warriors locked in close combat. They mutually block each other’s movement, wounding and bleeding, each trying to stop the other from advancing.