Shloka 7

Devanagari script

ततोअस्त्रमस्त्रेण परस्परं तौ विधूय वाताविव पूर्वपश्चिमौ

Transliteration

tato 'stram astreṇa parasparaṃ tau vidhūya vātāv iva pūrvapaścimau

Translation

Alors ces deux guerriers, opposant arme à arme, se frappèrent et se repoussèrent tour à tour, tels deux vents contraires soufflant de l’est et de l’ouest ; chacun rencontrait l’autre avec une force égale, selon l’inflexible réciprocité du champ de bataille.

Word by Word

ततःthen, thereafter

अस्त्रम्weapon, missile

अस्त्रेणwith a weapon

परस्परम्mutually, against each other

तौthose two (they two)

विधूयhaving shaken off / having repelled

वातौtwo winds

इवlike, as if

पूर्वeastern

पश्चिमौwestern

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Two opposing warriors (tau)

Weapons/missiles (astra)

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 kṣatriya battlefield ethic of measured reciprocity: force is met with equal counter-force, and skill is shown in restraint and precision—answering weapon with weapon rather than uncontrolled violence.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes two combatants locked in an intense exchange, each neutralizing the other’s missiles. Their clash is compared to opposing east and west winds colliding, conveying balance, resistance, and unceasing pressure.