Shloka 456

भीष्मधनंजयद्वैरथम्

Bhīṣma–Dhanaṃjaya Duel and the Opening Clash

Devanagari script

निर्विशेषमयुध्येतां कृतप्रतिकृतेषिणौ । वे दोनों वीर अत्यन्त हर्षमें भरकर युद्धका अभिनन्दन करनेवाले थे। दोनों ही दोनोंके किये हुए प्रहारका प्रतीकार करते हुए समानभावसे युद्ध करने लगे

Transliteration

sañjaya uvāca | nirviśeṣam ayudhyetāṃ kṛta-pratikṛteṣiṇau |

Translation

Sañjaya said: The two warriors fought on without distinction or advantage, each intent on countering the other’s blows. Exulting in battle, they met strike with strike in an even contest—an image of martial resolve where prowess seeks immediate requital rather than restraint.

Word by Word

• निर्विशेषम्: without distinction, equally
• निर्विशेषम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: निर्विशेष
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• अयुध्येताम्: the two fought
• अयुध्येताम्: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: युध्
• Form: Imperfect (Lan), 3rd, Dual, Atmanepada

• कृत: in (the) done (acts)
• कृत: Adhikarana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कृ
• Form: Past passive participle (kta), Neuter, Locative, Plural

• प्रतिकृतेषिणौ: the two seeking counter-action/retaliation
• प्रतिकृतेषिणौ: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: प्रतिकृतेषिन्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Dual

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights a battlefield ethic of immediate requital—each warrior seeks to answer the other’s action with a counter-action. It implicitly contrasts the momentum of retaliation with the ideal of restraint, showing how combat can become a cycle of response where equality of force sustains the duel.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes two unnamed heroes locked in a balanced duel. Neither gains a clear advantage; instead, they fight with equal intensity, each countering the other’s strikes, rejoicing in the contest as they continue the exchange of blows.