Shloka 27
तौ नखैरिव शार्दूलौ दन्तैरिव महाद्विपौ
tau nakhair iva śārdūlau dantair iva mahādvipau
Sañjaya said: The two fought like tigers with their claws, and like mighty elephants with their tusks—locked in a fierce, close-quarters struggle where raw strength and relentless resolve drove the combat onward.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the Mahābhārata’s recurring ethical tension: in war, human beings can be driven into animal-like ferocity. It implicitly warns that unchecked wrath and the momentum of violence can eclipse discernment, even among the noble.
Sañjaya describes two warriors engaged in intense hand-to-hand or very close combat, comparing them to tigers using claws and to great elephants using tusks—an image emphasizing proximity, power, and mutual aggression.