Shloka 42
अध्याय २२ — अमर्याद-युद्धवर्णन
Unrestrained Battle Description and Śakuni’s Rear Assault
ते समासाद्य समरे परस्परमरिंदमा: । व्यनदंश्वैव जघ्नुश्न समासाद्य महाहवे
te samāsādya samare parasparam arindamāḥ | vyanadaṁś caiva jaghnuś ca samāsādya mahāhave ||
Sañjaya said: Those foe-subduing warriors closed in upon one another on the battlefield. Meeting face to face in that great combat, they struck each other and raised their battle-cries, locked in mutual assault.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the relentless momentum of war: once opposing forces close in, mutual aggression and the culture of martial valor (battle-cries, direct engagement) take over. Ethically, it reflects the Mahābhārata’s recurring tension between kṣatriya-duty and the tragic cost of violence.
Sañjaya describes the combatants converging on the field, colliding in close quarters. They exchange blows and shout war-cries as the battle intensifies into direct, mutual fighting.