Shloka 24
Adhyāya 14: Śalya’s Missile-Pressure and the Pāṇḍava Convergence (शल्यस्य शरवर्षम्)
Devanagari script
अन्योन्यस्पर्धिनौ तौ तु शरै: संनतपर्वभि:
Transliteration
anyonyaspardhinau tau tu śaraiḥ saṃnataparvabhiḥ
Translation
Sañjaya dit : Ces deux rivaux s’assaillirent l’un l’autre de flèches aux jointures bien courbées et solides.
Word by Word
अन्योन्यस्पर्धिनौrivaling each other, mutually competing
अन्योन्यस्पर्धिनौ:
Karta
TypeAdjective
Rootअन्योन्यस्पर्धिन्
FormMasculine, Nominative, Dual
तौthose two
तौ:
Karta
TypePronoun
Rootतद्
FormMasculine, Nominative, Dual
तुbut/indeed
तु:
TypeIndeclinable
Rootतु
शरैःwith arrows
शरैः:
Karana
TypeNoun
Rootशर
FormMasculine, Instrumental, Plural
संनतपर्वभिःhaving well-bent joints/knots (i.e., well-made)
संनतपर्वभिः:
Karana
TypeAdjective
Rootसंनतपर्वन्
FormMasculine, Instrumental, Plural
Speaker
संजय उवाच
Characters & Entities
स
संजय (Sañjaya)त
तौ (the two rival warriors, unnamed in this half-verse)श
शर (arrows)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
The verse highlights the kṣatriya battlefield ethos: rivalry and the drive to surpass an equal opponent. Ethically, it points to how competitive pride (spardhā) intensifies violence, reminding readers that martial excellence can be inseparable from destructive escalation.
Sañjaya describes two warriors engaged in a direct contest, exchanging volleys of well-made arrows. The focus is on their mutual challenge and the technical ferocity of their combat.