Shloka 32
उन दोनोंके मनमें एक-दूसरेके प्रति महान् रोष भरा हुआ था। दोनों ही प्राणोंकी बाजी लगाकर अत्यन्त भयंकर युद्धका जूआ खेल रहे थे। उन प्रचण्ड वीरोंका वह संग्राम शम्बरासुर और इन्द्रके समान हो रहा था ।। शरै: शरीरार्तिकरै: सुतेजनै- निजषध्नतुस्तावितरेतरं भृशम् । सकृत्प्रभिन्नाविव वासितान्तरे महागजौ मन्मथसक्तचेतसौ,शरीरको पीड़ा देनेवाले अत्यन्त पैने बाणोंद्वारा वे दोनों वीर एक-दूसरेको गहरी चोट पहुँचाने लगे; मानो मैथुनकी इच्छावाली हथिनीके लिये कामासक्त चित्त होकर दो मदस्रावी गजराज परस्पर आघात करते हों
sañjaya uvāca |
śaraiḥ śarīrārtikaraiḥ sutejanaiḥ nijaghnatuḥ tāv itaretaraṃ bhṛśam |
sakṛt-prabhinnāv iva vāsitāntare mahāgajau manmatha-sakta-cetasau ||
Sañjaya said: With razor-sharp arrows that tore and tormented the body, the two warriors struck each other again and again with great force. They were like two mighty rutting elephants, their temples streaming, driven by passion in the presence of a receptive mate, crashing into one another—an image that underscores how wrath and desire can intoxicate even the strongest, turning battle into a reckless wager of life.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how overpowering emotions—especially wrath and desire—can intoxicate even great heroes, making them gamble with life itself. The elephant simile suggests loss of restraint: strength without self-mastery becomes destructive, raising an ethical warning about passion-driven violence in war.
Sañjaya describes two opposing champions locked in an extremely fierce exchange, wounding each other with very sharp arrows. Their mutual onslaught is compared to two rutting elephants, maddened by passion and crashing together with unstoppable force.