Shloka 20

Devanagari script

प्रगृह्ा विमलौ राजंस्तावन्योन्यमभिद्रुतौ । वासितासंगमे यत्तौ सिंहाविव महावने

Transliteration

sañjaya uvāca | pragṛhya vimalau rājan tāv anyonyam abhidrūtau | vāsitāsaṅgame yattau siṃhāv iva mahāvane ||

Translation

Sañjaya said: O King, having seized their gleaming swords, those two rushed at one another. Striving for victory in that clash, they fell upon each other like two lions in a great forest contending for the same lioness.

Word by Word

• प्रगृह्य: having seized/taking up
• प्रगृह्य: Karana
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र-ग्रह् (गृह्णाति)
• Form: ल्यप् (absolutive/gerund), परस्मैपदी (usage)

• विमलौ: two spotless/bright (ones)
• विमलौ: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: विमल
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Dual

• राजन्: O king
• राजन्: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: राजन्
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• तौ: those two
• तौ: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Dual

• अन्योन्यम्: each other
• अन्योन्यम्: Karma
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अन्योन्य

• अभिद्रुतौ: having rushed at / charging
• अभिद्रुतौ: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: अभि-द्रु (द्रवति)
• Form: क्त (past passive participle used adjectivally), Masculine, Nominative, Dual

• वासितासङ्गमे: in the encounter of drawn/brandished (swords)
• वासितासङ्गमे: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: वासित-असङ्गम
• Form: Masculine, Locative, Singular

• यत्तौ: which two
• यत्तौ: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: यत्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Dual

• सिंहौ: two lions
• सिंहौ: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: सिंह
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Dual

• इव: like/as
• इव: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इव

• महावने: in the great forest
• महावने: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: महावन
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Dhṛtarāṣṭra (implied by rājan)
• Dhṛṣṭaketu
• Paurava
• swords (khaḍga)
• great forest (mahāvana)
• two lions (siṃhau)
• lioness (vāsitā)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse uses a lion-simile to show how the drive for supremacy (and the coveted 'prize') can turn warriors into relentless rivals, highlighting the ethical tension in war: valor and duty on one side, and the destructive pull of competitive desire on the other.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports to the king that Dhṛṣṭaketu and Paurava, with shining swords in hand, charge at each other and engage fiercely, likened to two lions battling in a great forest.