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Shloka 12

यथा शिलोच्चये शैल: सागरे सागरो यथा । प्रतिहन्येत राजेन्द्र तथा55सन्‌ कुरुपाण्डवा:,राजेन्द्र! जैसे एक पहाड़ दूसरे पहाड़से टकरा जाय तथा एक समुद्र दूसरे समुद्रसे टक्कर ले, वही अवस्था कौरव-पाण्डव योद्धाओंकी भी थी

sañjaya uvāca | yathā śilocchaye śailaḥ sāgare sāgaro yathā | pratihanyeta rājendra tathāsan kurupāṇḍavāḥ ||

قال سنجيا: «يا ملكَ الملوك، كما يصطدم جبلٌ بجبلٍ على ذُرى الصخر، وكما يندفع بحرٌ ليلقى بحرًا، كذلك تصادم الكورو والباندافا—لقاءٌ متكافئ القوة، عظيم السعة، صلب العزم لا يلين.»

यथाjust as
यथा:
TypeIndeclinable
Rootयथा
शिलोच्चयेon/at a heap of rocks (rocky mass)
शिलोच्चये:
Adhikarana
TypeNoun
Rootशिलोच्चय
FormMasculine, Locative, Singular
शैलःa mountain
शैलः:
Karta
TypeNoun
Rootशैल
FormMasculine, Nominative, Singular
सागरेin/at the ocean
सागरे:
Adhikarana
TypeNoun
Rootसागर
FormMasculine, Locative, Singular
सागरःan ocean
सागरः:
Karta
TypeNoun
Rootसागर
FormMasculine, Nominative, Singular
यथाjust as
यथा:
TypeIndeclinable
Rootयथा
प्रतिहन्येतwould strike against / would collide
प्रतिहन्येत:
TypeVerb
Rootप्रति-हन्
FormOptative (Vidhi-lin), Atmanepada, 3rd, Singular
राजेन्द्रO lord of kings
राजेन्द्र:
TypeNoun
Rootराजेन्द्र
FormMasculine, Vocative, Singular
तथाso, in the same way
तथा:
TypeIndeclinable
Rootतथा
आसन्were
आसन्:
TypeVerb
Rootअस्
FormImperfect (Lan), Parasmaipada, 3rd, Plural
कुरु-पाण्डवाःthe Kurus and the Pandavas
कुरु-पाण्डवाः:
Karta
TypeNoun
Rootकुरु + पाण्डव
FormMasculine, Nominative, Plural

संजय उवाच

S
Sañjaya
D
Dhṛtarāṣṭra (implied by 'rājendra')
K
Kurus
P
Pāṇḍavas
M
mountain (śaila)
O
ocean (sāgara)

Educational Q&A

The verse underscores the overwhelming, almost elemental magnitude of the conflict: when power meets power without restraint, the result is a catastrophic collision. Ethically, it hints at the tragic momentum of war—once dharma is obscured by rivalry and vengeance, even great lineages crash together like natural forces.

Sañjaya reports to King Dhṛtarāṣṭra that the Kuru and Pāṇḍava warriors have met in battle with equal intensity. He uses two similes—mountain against mountain and ocean against ocean—to convey the scale, noise, and unstoppable force of their engagement.