Shloka 32

Devanagari script

रुद्रौ द्वाविव सम्भूतौ यथा द्वाविव भास्करौ । यमौ वा पुरुषव्याप्रौ घोररूपावुभौ रणे,“ये भयंकर रूपधारी दोनों पुरुषसिंह रणभूमिमें दो रुद्र, दो सूर्य अथवा दो यमराजके समान प्रकट हुए हैं!

Transliteration

rudrau dvāv iva sambhūtau yathā dvāv iva bhāskarau | yamau vā puruṣavyāghrau ghorarūpāv ubhau raṇe ||

Translation

Sañjaya said: “Those two lion-like heroes appeared on the battlefield in terrifying form—like two Rudras, like two suns, or like the twin Yamas—portents of overwhelming destruction in the clash.”

Word by Word

रुद्रौtwo Rudras

द्वौtwo

इवas if/like

सम्भूतौarisen/appeared

यथाjust as

द्वौtwo

इवas if/like

भास्करौtwo suns

यमौtwo Yamas (lords of death)

वाor

पुरुषव्याप्रौtwo manly/heroic men (lit. vigorous in manhood)

घोररूपौof terrible form

उभौboth

रणेin battle

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Rudra

Bhāskara (Sun)

Yama

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 underscores how war magnifies human agency into near-divine forces of destruction: when great warriors abandon restraint, they resemble cosmic powers (Rudra, Sun, Yama), reminding the listener of the ethical peril and irreversible consequences of battle.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya, reporting the battlefield to Dhṛtarāṣṭra, describes two foremost fighters who have entered combat with terrifying intensity; their presence is conveyed through grand similes—two Rudras, two suns, or two Yamas—to signal imminent slaughter and awe.