Mahabharata — Shalya Parva, Shloka 24
Gadāyuddhe Kṛṣṇopadeśaḥ (Kṛṣṇa’s Counsel in the Mace-Duel) — Śalya-parva 57
एवं तदभवद् युद्ध घोररूपं परंतप । परिवृत्ते5हनि क्रूरं वृत्रवासवयोरिव
sañjaya uvāca | evaṃ tad abhavad yuddhaṃ ghorarūpaṃ parantapa | parivṛtte 'hani krūraṃ vṛtrāvāsavayor iva ||
Sañjaya said: Thus that battle became terrifying in form, O scorcher of foes. When the day had turned (toward its close), it grew even more cruel—like the dreadful combat between Vṛtra and Vāsava (Indra).
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores how war, once unleashed, tends to intensify into cruelty as momentum and desperation grow; by invoking the cosmic duel of Vṛtra and Indra, it frames human conflict as a force that can eclipse ordinary restraint, warning of the ethical collapse that prolonged violence can bring.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that the fighting has become terrifying and, as the day advances, increasingly savage—comparing its ferocity to the legendary battle between Vṛtra and Indra.
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