Shloka 39
कर्णभीमयुद्धम्
Karna–Bhīma Combat Report
ते गदे सहसा मुक्ते समासाद्य परस्परम्
te gade sahasā mukte samāsādya parasparam
Sañjaya sprach: Als jene beiden Keulen plötzlich geschleudert wurden, trafen sie einander frontal und prallten mitten im Flug zusammen—ein Bild der unerbittlichen Steigerung des Krieges, in dem Kraft auf Kraft antwortet und der Wille der Kämpfer sich zu gegenseitiger Vernichtung verhärtet statt zu Mäßigung.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how, in war, impulsive aggression tends to be mirrored and amplified: when weapons are hurled without pause, they meet in mutual collision—suggesting the ethical cost of escalation and the difficulty of restoring restraint once violence is set in motion.
Two opposing fighters release their maces at the same time; the maces meet each other directly, colliding as they travel, indicating a closely matched and intense exchange in the battle described by Sañjaya.