Shloka 32
अध्याय ५३ — रणमेघोपमा सेना-वर्णना तथा सुषेण-वधोत्तर प्रतिक्रिया
Battle-as-Storm Imagery and the Aftermath of Suṣeṇa’s Fall
तदभूत् तुमुल॑ युद्ध वृष्णिपार्षतयो रणे । आमिषार्थे यथा युद्ध श्येनयो: क्रुद्धयोर्नुप
tad abhūt tumulaṁ yuddhaṁ vṛṣṇipārṣatayor raṇe | āmiṣārthe yathā yuddhaṁ śyenayoḥ kruddhayor nṛpa-nareśvara ||
Sañjaya said: Then, on that battlefield, a tumultuous fight arose between the Vṛṣṇi and the Pārṣata. O king, it was like the furious combat of two hawks contending for a piece of flesh—so did that dreadful duel blaze forth in the field.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how anger and desire for a prize can reduce warriors to predatory rivalry, suggesting an ethical warning: when combat is driven by rage and grasping, it mirrors animal struggle rather than disciplined kṣatriya duty.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that a fierce duel erupts on the battlefield between the Vṛṣṇi-side warrior Kṛtavarmā and the Pārṣata warrior Dhṛṣṭadyumna, compared to two enraged hawks fighting over flesh.