Shloka 32
अन्धकार-रजःसंमूढे रणाङ्गणे प्रदीपप्रकाशः | Illumination of the Army in Darkness and Dust
जैसे दो हाथी अपने दाँतोंसे एक-दूसरेपर आघात करते हैं, उसी प्रकार वे शत्रुदमन वीर अपने बाणोंद्वारा एक-दूसरेके शरीरोंको विदीर्ण करते हुए सुशोभित हो रहे थे ।। नादयन्तौ प्रहर्षन्ती विक्रीडन्तो परस्परम् । मण्डलानि विकुर्वाणौ रथाभ्यां रथसत्तमौ,रथियोंमें श्रेष्ठ भीम और कर्ण सिंहनाद करते, अत्यन्त हर्षसे उत्फुल्ल हो उठते और आपसमें खेल-सा करते हुए रथोंद्वारा मण्डलगतिसे विचरते थे
sañjaya uvāca | yathā dvau hastinau dantābhyām anyonyam āghātayataḥ, tathā tau śatrudamanau vīrau śarair anyonyasya śarīre vidārayantau śobhamānau babhūvatuḥ || nādayantau praharṣantau vikrīḍantau parasparam | maṇḍalāni vikurvāṇau rathābhyāṃ rathasattamau ||
Sañjaya said: Like two elephants striking one another with their tusks, those two enemy-subduing heroes shone as they tore each other’s bodies with volleys of arrows. Roaring aloud, exultant, and as if sporting with one another, the foremost of chariot-warriors—Bhīma and Karṇa—wheeled their chariots in circling maneuvers.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the Kshatriya ideal of fearless engagement and mastery in battle, while also implying an ethical tension: even when warriors display splendor and joy in combat, the reality is mutual wounding and the heavy karmic cost of violence.
Sanjaya describes Bhima and Karna locked in a fierce chariot duel. They roar, feel exhilarated, and maneuver in circles (maṇḍalas) as they exchange arrow volleys that tear into each other’s bodies, likened to two elephants clashing tusks.