Shloka 17

समुद्रवर्णनम् (Description of the Ocean) — Kadrū and Vinatā approach the sea

Devanagari script

परिघैरायसैस्तीकणै: संनिकर्षे च मुष्टिभि: । निध्नतां समरे<न्योन्यं शब्दो दिवमिवास्पृशत्‌,उस समरांगणमें दूरवर्ती देवता और दानव लोहेके तीखे परिघोंसे एक-दूसरेपर चोट करते थे और निकट आ जानेपर आपसमें मुक्का-मुक्की करने लगते थे। इस प्रकार उनके पारस्परिक आघात-प्रत्याघातका शब्द मानो सारे आकाशमें गूँज उठा

Transliteration

parighair āyasais tīkṣṇaiḥ saṃnikarṣe ca muṣṭibhiḥ | nidhnatāṃ samare 'nyonyaṃ śabdo divam ivāspṛśat ||

Translation

Śaunaka dijo: En la batalla, se golpeaban unos a otros con afiladas mazas de hierro; y cuando se cerraban a corta distancia, luchaban a puñetazos. El estruendo de sus golpes y contragolpes parecía elevarse hasta tocar los mismos cielos: imagen de la furia devoradora de la guerra, donde la fuerza ahoga la contención y el mundo se llena de las consecuencias de una hostilidad sin freno.

Word by Word

• {'parigha': 'iron club, bludgeon, mace-like weapon', 'āyasa': 'made of iron', 'tīkṣṇa': 'sharp, keen-edged, piercing', 'saṃnikarṣa': 'close contact, proximity, close quarters', 'muṣṭi': 'fist

• also a fist-blow', 'nidhnatām': 'of those striking/smiting (genitive plural present participle)', 'samara': 'battle, combat', 'anyonya': 'one another, mutually', 'śabda': 'sound, noise, din', 'divam': 'heaven, sky', 'iva': 'as if, like', 'āspṛśat': 'touched, reached'}

Speaker

शौनक उवाच

Characters & Entities

• शौनक (Śaunaka)
• परिघ (iron clubs)
• मुष्टि (fists)
• दिव/दिवम् (heaven/sky)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores how violence escalates: from weapon-strikes at a distance to fist-fighting at close quarters, producing a heaven-reaching uproar. Ethically, it serves as a narrative warning about the overpowering momentum of conflict when restraint and discernment are lost.

What is happening in the narrative?

Śaunaka describes a fierce combat scene in which fighters batter each other with sharp iron clubs, then grapple at close range with fists. The mutual impacts create a tremendous roar that seems to fill the sky.