Shloka 693
निजघ्नतुश्चाहितसैन्यमुग्र- मन्योन्यमप्यस्त्रविदौ महास्त्रै: वे दोनों सम्पूर्ण धनुर्धरोंमें श्रेष्ठ महाबली, सारे शत्रुओंका सामना करनेमें समर्थ और अस्त्रविद्याके विद्वान् थे; अतः भयंकर शत्रुसेनाको तथा आपसमें भी एक-दूसरेको महान् अस्त्रोंद्वारा घायल करने लगे
nijaghnatuś cāhitasainyam ugraṁ anyonyam apy astravidau mahāstraiḥ
Sañjaya said: Those two mighty heroes—foremost among all archers, capable of facing every foe, and masters of weapon-lore—began to strike down the fierce hostile host; and they also wounded one another with great celestial missiles. The scene shows how, in war, skill and valor can intensify destruction, turning even peerless prowess into mutual harm when dharma is eclipsed by the compulsion to win.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the moral tension of warfare: extraordinary mastery of arms, when driven by rivalry and the urge to prevail, magnifies suffering. It implicitly warns that prowess without dharmic restraint becomes a force of mutual ruin.
Sañjaya describes two supreme archers who, in the heat of battle, devastate the opposing forces and simultaneously injure each other using powerful astras, escalating the conflict through their matched skill.