अध्याय ५३ — रणमेघोपमा सेना-वर्णना तथा सुषेण-वधोत्तर प्रतिक्रिया
Battle-as-Storm Imagery and the Aftermath of Suṣeṇa’s Fall
तदभूत् तुमुल॑ युद्ध वृष्णिपार्षतयो रणे । आमिषार्थे यथा युद्ध श्येनयो: क्रुद्धयोर्नुप
tad abhūt tumulaṁ yuddhaṁ vṛṣṇipārṣatayor raṇe | āmiṣārthe yathā yuddhaṁ śyenayoḥ kruddhayor nṛpa-nareśvara ||
Sañjaya dijo: «Entonces, en aquel campo de batalla, se alzó una lucha tumultuosa entre el Vṛṣṇi y el Pārṣata. ¡Oh rey!, como el furioso combate de dos halcones que se disputan un trozo de carne, así ardió aquel terrible duelo en la llanura.»
संजय उवाच
The verse highlights how anger and desire for a prize can reduce warriors to predatory rivalry, suggesting an ethical warning: when combat is driven by rage and grasping, it mirrors animal struggle rather than disciplined kṣatriya duty.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that a fierce duel erupts on the battlefield between the Vṛṣṇi-side warrior Kṛtavarmā and the Pārṣata warrior Dhṛṣṭadyumna, compared to two enraged hawks fighting over flesh.