Shloka 273
Cakravyūha-saṃkalpaḥ, Saṃśaptaka-āhvānaṃ, Saubhadra-vikrīḍitam
Drona Parva, Adhyāya 32
नर्खैर्दन्तैश्न शूराणामद्वीपे द्वीपमिच्छताम् । कुछ लोगोंमें एक-दूसरेके केश पकड़कर युद्ध होने लगा। कितने ही योद्धाओं में अत्यन्त भयंकर मुक्कोंकी मार होने लगी। कितने ही शूरवीर उस निराश्रय स्थानमें आश्रय ढूँढ़ रहे थे और नखों तथा दाँतोंसे एक-दूसरेको चोट पहुँचा रहे थे
nakhair dantaiś ca śūrāṇām advīpe dvīpam icchatām |
Sañjaya said: In that supportless, islandless chaos of battle, the warriors—desperate to find some “island” of safety—fell to striking one another with nails and teeth. The scene sank from ordered combat into raw, close-quarters violence, revealing how fear and confusion can strip away restraint and the customary codes of warfare.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how, when fear and disorientation dominate, even valorous warriors may abandon restraint and descend into instinctive violence. Ethically, it warns that adharma can spread in war when inner discipline and clear norms collapse.
Sañjaya describes a moment of extreme confusion in the battlefield where fighters, unable to find safety or stable ground, grapple at close range and injure each other with nails and teeth—signaling a breakdown from formal weapon-based combat into desperate hand-to-hand struggle.