Shloka 29

Devanagari script

तावन्योन्यमभिद्रुत्य केशेषु सुमहाबलौ । भुजाभ्यां पर्यगृह्नीतां महाकायौ महाबलौ

Transliteration

tāv anyonyam abhidrutya keśeṣu sumahābalau | bhujābhyāṁ paryagṛhṇītāṁ mahākāyau mahābalau ||

Translation

Sañjaya said: The two, possessed of tremendous strength, rushed at one another and, seizing each other by the hair, grappled tightly with their arms—both huge of frame and mighty in power.

Word by Word

तौthose two

अन्योन्यम्each other / mutually

अभिद्रुत्यhaving rushed at / having charged

केशेषुin/at the hair (by the hair)

सुमहाबलौvery mighty (two)

भुजाभ्याम्with (their) two arms

पर्यगृह्नीताम्they seized / they grasped

ताम्them (those two) / each other (as object)

महाकायौhuge-bodied (two)

महाबलौmighty (two)

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the dehumanizing intensity of battle: even great warriors can be driven from disciplined weapon-combat into primal grappling. Ethically, it points to how anger and pride can overpower self-control, a recurring Mahābhārata warning about the costs of unchecked wrath in dharma-yuddha.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya narrates a close-quarters clash between two exceptionally strong, large-bodied fighters. They charge at each other, seize one another by the hair, and lock in a forceful clinch using their arms, indicating a fierce struggle at very close range.