Shloka 2

Devanagari script

ततस्तालध्वजो रामस्तयोर्युद्ध उपस्थिते । श्रुत्वा तच्छिष्ययो राजन्नाजगाम हलायुध:,संजय कहते हैं--महाराज! वह अत्यन्त भयंकर युद्ध जब आरम्भ होने लगा और समस्त महात्मा पाण्डव उसे देखनेके लिये बैठ गये, उस समय अपने दोनों शिष्योंका संग्राम उपस्थित होनेपर उसका समाचार सुन तालचिह्वित ध्वजवाले हलधारी बलरामजी वहाँ आ पहुँचे

Transliteration

tatastāladhvajo rāmas tayor yuddha upasthite | śrutvā tacchiṣyayo rājann ājagāma halāyudhaḥ ||

Translation

Sañjaya said: “O King, when the dreadful battle between those two was about to begin, Rāma—whose banner bore the emblem of the palm tree—hearing that his two disciples had come face to face in combat, arrived there bearing the plough-weapon (halāyudha).”

Word by Word

ततःthen, thereafter

तालध्वजःhaving a palm-tree as his banner

रामःRama (Balarama)

तयोःof the two (of them)

युद्धेin the battle

उपस्थितेwhen (it was) present/at hand; when it had come about

श्रुत्वाhaving heard

तत्that (news/that matter)

शिष्ययोःof (his) two disciples

राजन्O king

आजगामcame, arrived

हलायुधःthe one whose weapon is a plough (Balarama)

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

King (Dhṛtarāṣṭra)

Rāma (Balarāma)

the two disciples (Duryodhana and Bhīma)

palm-tree banner (tāla-dhvaja)

plough-weapon (hala)

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 highlights the ethical strain when personal bonds (a teacher’s affection and responsibility toward disciples) collide with the inexorable momentum of war and kṣatriya-duty. Even a revered elder like Balarāma is drawn to witness and respond when dharma, loyalty, and rivalry converge in a decisive confrontation.

What is happening in the narrative?

As the duel between the two principal mace-fighters—Balarāma’s disciples Bhīma and Duryodhana—is about to begin, Balarāma (identified by the palm-tree banner and the plough as his weapon) hears the news and comes to the spot to witness the impending combat.