Shloka 266
Vāg-yuddha and Nimitta-darśana before the Gadāyuddha
Verbal Duel and Omens
संयुगे च प्रकाशेतां गिरी सशिखराविव । दुर्योधन और भीमसेन दोनोंकी गदाएँ ऊपरको उठी थीं। उस समय रणभूमिमें वे दोनों शिखरयुक्त दो पर्वतोंके समान प्रकाशित हो रहे थे
sayuge ca prak01bet019 gir2b sabikh01r01v iva |
Sañjaya said: In the thick of battle, the two shone forth like twin mountains crowned with peaks. Duryodhana and Bhīmasena had raised their maces aloft, and those uplifted weapons made them seem like towering, radiant masses—an image of martial pride and the terrible resolve driving the war toward its fated end.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how martial power and outward splendor can mask the grim ethical weight of violence: even when warriors appear magnificent, the battlefield remains a place where pride, wrath, and destiny converge, demanding discernment about dharma and consequence.
Sanjaya describes Duryodhana and Bh2bmasena in the mace-duel: both lift their maces upward, and in that moment they blaze on the battlefield like two peak-crested mountains.