Shloka 406

Vāg-yuddha and Nimitta-darśana before the Gadāyuddha

Verbal Duel and Omens

Devanagari script

तौ समेतौ महात्मानौ गदाहस्तौ नरोत्तमौ । उन दोनोंके ओठ रोषसे फड़क रहे थे। वे दोनों नरश्रेष्ठ एक-दूसरेपर दृष्टिपात करते हुए हाथमें गदा ले परस्पर भिड़नेके लिये उद्यत थे

Transliteration

tau sametau mahātmānau gadā-hastau narottamau |

Translation

Sañjaya said: Those two great-souled champions, the best of men, came face to face with maces in hand. Their lips quivered with wrath; fixing their gaze upon one another, each stood poised to clash—anger driving them toward a decisive, violent encounter in the midst of the war’s moral collapse.

Word by Word

• तौ: those two
• तौ: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Dual

• समेतौ: come together, assembled
• समेतौ: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: समेत (सम् + इ + क्त)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Dual

• महात्मानौ: great-souled (men), great heroes
• महात्मानौ: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: महात्मन्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Dual

• गदाहस्तौ: with maces in hand
• गदाहस्तौ: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: गदाहस्त
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Dual

• नरोत्तमौ: the best of men
• नरोत्तमौ: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: नरोत्तम
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Dual

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• gadā (mace)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Even the ‘best of men’ can be overtaken by anger; the verse highlights how wrath and fixation on victory can eclipse discernment, foreshadowing ethical breakdown in war where personal fury pushes action more than dharmic restraint.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes two eminent warriors confronting each other at close quarters, maces raised, staring each other down with visible rage and preparing to engage in a mace duel.