Shloka 5
ततो विमर्द: सुमहान् बभूव तत्रार्जुनस्याधिरथेश्व॒ राजन । अन्योन्यमासादयतो: पृषत्कै- विंषाणघातैद्विपयोरिवोग्रै:,राजन! जैसे दो हाथी अपने भयंकर दाँतोंसे एक-दूसरेपर चोट करते हैं, उसी प्रकार अर्जुन और कर्ण एक-दूसरेपर बाणोंका प्रहार कर रहे थे। उस समय उन दोनोंमें बड़ा भारी युद्ध होने लगा
tato vimardaḥ sumahān babhūva tatrārjunasya adhiratheśva rājan | anyonyam āsādayatoḥ pṛṣatkaiḥ viṃśāṇaghātair dvipayor ivograiḥ ||
Sañjaya dijo: Entonces, oh Rey, se alzó allí un choque inmenso entre Arjuna y el hijo del auriga (Karṇa). Como dos poderosos elefantes se hieren con feroces embestidas de sus colmillos, así aquellos dos se acometían mutuamente con flechas, encontrándose de frente en combate implacable.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the intensity and inevitability of kṣatriya combat when two foremost warriors meet: neither yields, and the encounter becomes a direct test of prowess and resolve. Ethically, it reflects the Mahābhārata’s recurring tension between personal rivalry and the larger, duty-bound momentum of war.
Sañjaya describes Arjuna and Karna closing upon each other and exchanging volleys of arrows. Their mutual assault is compared to two powerful elephants goring each other with tusks, emphasizing a brutal, evenly matched clash.