Shloka 13

भीमसेनस्य गदायुद्ध-प्रभावः

The Battlefield Impact of Bhīmasena’s Mace Combat

Devanagari script

तौ तत्र समरे युक्तौ कृतप्रतिकृतेषिणौ । अन्योन्यं विशिखैस्ती६णैर्जघ्नतु: पुरुषर्षभौ,वे दोनों पुरुषरत्न वहाँ एक-दूसरेके अस्त्रोंका निवारण अथवा प्रतीकार करनेकी इच्छा रखकर युद्धमें संलग्न थे और पैने बाणोंद्वारा एक-दूसरेको घायल कर रहे थे

Transliteration

tau tatra samare yuktau kṛta-pratikṛteṣiṇau | anyonyaṁ viśikhaiḥ tīkṣṇair jaghnatuḥ puruṣarṣabhau ||

Translation

Dijo Sañjaya: Allí, en el fragor del combate, aquellos dos héroes, como toros entre los hombres, se enzarzaron por completo, cada cual resuelto a contrarrestar y devolver las acciones del otro. Con flechas agudas se hirieron una y otra vez: guerreros iguales en determinación, trabados en un duelo de represalia y destreza.

Word by Word

तौthose two (men)

तत्रthere

समरेin battle

युक्तौengaged, joined (in combat)

कृत-प्रतिकृत-एषिणौdesiring counteraction/retaliation (to what was done)

अन्योन्यम्each other

विशिखैःwith arrows

तीक्ष्णैःsharp

जघ्नतुःthey two struck/slew (hit repeatedly)

पुरुष-ऋषभौthe two best of men

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

two unnamed heroes (puruṣarṣabhau)

arrows (viśikha)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the cycle of retaliation in war: two great warriors, driven by the urge to counter and repay, intensify violence through mutual striking. Ethically, it underscores how ‘requital’ (pratikṛta) can become a governing motive in conflict, sustaining escalation even among the noble.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports that two eminent fighters are locked in direct combat on the battlefield, each aiming to neutralize the other’s attacks and answer them in kind, wounding one another with sharp arrows.