Shloka 32

Nakula–Śakuni Duel and the Night Battle; Śikhaṇḍin–Kṛpa Engagement (नकुल-शकुनियुद्धं तथा रात्रियुद्धवर्णनम्)

Devanagari script

यूथपौ वासिताहेतो: प्रयुद्धाविव कुड्जरौ । जैसे हथिनीके लिये दो यूथपति गजराज परस्पर घोर युद्ध करते हैं, उसी प्रकार आपसमें लड़नेवाले उन योद्धाओंके अधिपतियोंको सब लोग दर्शक बनकर देखने लगे ३१३ || अन्योन्यस्य हयान्‌ हत्वा धनुषी विनिकृत्य च

Transliteration

yūthapau vāsitāhetoḥ prayuddhāv iva kuñjarau | anyonyasya hayān hatvā dhanuṣī vinikṛtya ca ||

Translation

Sañjaya said: “Like two lordly elephants, each the leader of his herd, battling fiercely for the sake of a she-elephant, those two champions fought one another. After striking down each other’s horses and cutting the bows, they pressed on in close combat—while the surrounding warriors looked on as spectators at the clash of their chiefs.”

Word by Word

• यूथपौ: two leaders of a herd (troop-leaders)
• यूथपौ: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: यूथप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Dual

• वासिताहेतोः: for the sake/cause of the (female) in heat
• वासिताहेतोः: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: वासित-हेतु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Singular

• प्रयुद्धौ: fighting, engaged in battle
• प्रयुद्धौ: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: प्रयुद्ध (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Dual

• इव: like, as if
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इव

• कुञ्जरौ: two elephants
• कुञ्जरौ: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: कुञ्जर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Dual

• अन्योन्यस्य: of each other / mutually
• अन्योन्यस्य: Adhikarana
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: अन्योन्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Genitive, Singular

• हयान्: horses
• हयान्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: हय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

• हत्वा: having killed
• Type: Verb
• Root: हन् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वा (absolutive/gerund), Parasmaipada (usage)

• धनुषी: two bows
• धनुषी: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: धनुस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Dual

• विनिकृत्य: having cut off / having severed
• Type: Verb
• Root: नि + कृद्/कृत् (धातु: कृन्त्/कृद् = to cut) with वि-नि- (upasarga)
• Form: क्त्वा (absolutive/gerund), Parasmaipada (usage)

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• two yūthapas (herd-leader elephants, simile)
• vāsitā (she-elephant, simile)
• horses (haya)
• bows (dhanuṣ)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights how war can reduce even great leaders to contests driven by rivalry and display, drawing crowds as if it were spectacle; it implicitly invites reflection on the ethical cost of treating lethal combat as entertainment and on the pride that fuels duels.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes two principal warriors locked in a fierce duel, compared to two herd-leading elephants fighting over a she-elephant; they kill each other’s horses and cut each other’s bows, continuing the fight while others watch.