Shloka 593

Devanagari script

छादयेतां महेष्वासौ कृतप्रतिकृतैषिणौ । राजन! वे दोनों महाधनुर्धर वीर आघातका प्रतिघात करनेकी इच्छासे परस्पर बाणोंकी वर्षा करके एक-दूसरेको आच्छादित करने लगे

Transliteration

chādayetāṁ maheṣvāsau kṛta-pratikṛtaiṣiṇau | rājan! ve dvau mahā-dhanurdhara-vīrau āghātakā pratighāta-karaṇe icchayā parasparaṁ bāṇānāṁ varṣaṁ kṛtvā anyonyaṁ ācchādituṁ pracakratū ||

Translation

Sañjaya sprach: O König, jene beiden mächtigen Bogenschützen, darauf aus, Schlag mit Gegenschlag zu vergelten, begannen einander zu bedecken, indem sie Pfeilschauer aufeinander niedergehen ließen.

Word by Word

• छादयेताम्: they two would cover / began to cover
• छादयेताम्: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: छाद्
• Form: Vidhi-lin (optative), 3rd, dual, Parasmaipada

• महा-इष्वासौ: two great bowmen
• महा-इष्वासौ: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: महेष्वास
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, dual

• कृत-प्रतिकृत-एषिणौ: two who sought retaliation (counter-blow) for a blow done
• कृत-प्रतिकृत-एषिणौ: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कृतप्रतिकृतैषिन्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, dual

• राजन्: O king
• राजन्: Sampradana
• Type: Noun
• Root: राजन्
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Rājan (Dhṛtarāṣṭra)
• two great archers (unnamed in this verse)
• arrows (bāṇāḥ)
• bow (dhanus, implied)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the moral and psychological momentum of war: retaliation becomes self-perpetuating. Even when framed as valor and kṣatriya resolve, the impulse to answer injury with injury can intensify conflict and obscure higher discernment (dharma) amid battle.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes two formidable archers locked in direct combat. Each seeks to counter the other’s attacks, releasing dense volleys of arrows that ‘cover’ the opponent—an image of overwhelming martial exchange and evenly matched prowess.