Shloka 15

Devanagari script

तयो: समभवद्‌ युद्ध क्रुद्धयो राक्षसेन्द्रयो: । मत्तयोरवासिताहेतोर्द्धिपयोरिव कानने,फिर तो क्रोधमें भरे हुए उन दोनों राक्षसराजोंमें वनके भीतर हथिनीके लिये लड़नेवाले दो मतवाले हाथियोंके समान घोर युद्ध होने लगा

Transliteration

tayoḥ samabhavad yuddhaṁ kruddhayo rākṣasendrayōḥ | mattayor avasita-hetor dvipayor iva kānane ||

Translation

Sañjaya sprach: Zwischen jenen beiden erzürnten Herren der Rākṣasas entbrannte ein grimmiger Kampf—wie zwei berauschte Elefanten im Wald, von einem festen Anlass getrieben, die um eine Elefantenkuh ringen.

Word by Word

तयोःof those two

समभवत्arose/occurred

युद्धम्battle

क्रुद्धयोःof the enraged (two)

राक्षसेन्द्रयोःof the two lords of the Rakshasas

मत्तयोःof the two intoxicated/maddened (ones)

अवासिताहेतोःof (those) having the cause of (a female) in heat (i.e., for a mate)

द्विपयोःof the two elephants

इवlike/as

काननेin the forest

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

two rākṣasa-kings (unnamed in this verse)

forest (kānana)

two elephants (dvipa)

she-elephant (implied by the simile: avasita-hetu)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights how anger and fixation on a motive can make even powerful beings act like maddened elephants—strength becomes indiscriminate destruction. Implicitly, it contrasts such rage-driven combat with the restraint and discernment expected by dharma.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes a violent clash between two enraged rākṣasa leaders. Their combat is compared to two intoxicated elephants fighting in a forest over a she-elephant, emphasizing the ferocity and blind intensity of the encounter.