Shloka 23

Devanagari script

परस्परं समासाद्य दंष्टा भ्यां द्विरदौ यथा । अशोभेतां महाराज शोणितेन परिप्लुतो,महाराज! जैसे दो हाथी अपने दाँतोंसे परस्पर प्रहार करके लहूलुहान हो जाते हैं, उसी प्रकार वे दोनों एक-दूसरेपर चोट करके खूनसे भीगकर शोभा पाने लगे

Transliteration

parasparaṁ samāsādya daṁṣṭrābhyāṁ dviradau yathā | aśobhetāṁ mahārāja śoṇitena pariplutau ||

Translation

Sañjaya said: “O King, having closed with one another, they shone like two elephants that clash with their tusks—both drenched in blood.” The image underscores the brutal symmetry of combat: valor and endurance are displayed, yet the ‘splendor’ is inseparable from the moral cost of mutual wounding in war.

Word by Word

परस्परम्mutually, each other

समासाद्यhaving approached/encountered

दंष्टाभ्याम्with (their) tusks

द्विरदौtwo elephants

यथाas, just as

अशोभेताम्they shone/appeared splendid

महाराजO great king

शोणितेनwith blood

परिप्लुतौflooded/soaked (all over)

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Mahārāja (Dhṛtarāṣṭra, as addressee)

two elephants (simile)

tusks

blood

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 paradox of battlefield ‘glory’: courage and prowess may appear splendid, yet they arise through reciprocal harm. It invites reflection on the ethical weight of violence even when performed within the accepted duties of war.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes two combatants locked in close combat, striking each other so fiercely that both are soaked in blood, likened to two elephants goring one another with their tusks.