Mahabharata 7.135.16 — Drona Parva, Adhyaya 135, Shloka 16

द्रौणि-पार्षतयोर्युद्धम् | The Duel of Aśvatthāmā

Drauṇi) and Dhṛṣṭadyumna (Pārṣata

Devanagari script

संजय उवाच शृणु राजन्‌ यथावृत्तं संग्रामं कर्णभीमयो: । परस्परवधप्रेप्स्वोर्वनकुज्जरयोरिव

Transliteration

sañjaya uvāca śṛṇu rājan yathāvṛttaṃ saṅgrāmaṃ karṇabhīmayōḥ | parasparavadhaprepsvor vanakuñjarayor iva ||

Translation

સંજય બોલ્યો—હે રાજન! કર્ણ અને ભીમસેનનો સંગ્રામ જેમ બન્યો તેમ સાંભળો. વનમાં બે જંગલી હાથીઓની જેમ તેઓ પરસ્પર વધ માટે આતુર હતા.

Word by Word

• संजयः: Sanjaya
• संजयः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: संजय
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• उवाच: said
• Type: Verb
• Root: वच्
• Form: Perfect, 3rd, Singular, Parasmaipada

• शृणु: hear, listen
• Type: Verb
• Root: श्रु
• Form: Imperative, 2nd, Singular, Parasmaipada

• राजन्: O king
• Type: Noun
• Root: राजन्
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• यथा-वृत्तम्: as it happened, in due order
• यथा-वृत्तम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वृत्त
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• संग्रामम्: battle
• संग्रामम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: संग्राम
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• कर्ण-भीमयोः: of Karna and Bhima
• Type: Noun
• Root: कर्ण + भीम
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Dual

• परस्पर-वध-प्रेप्स्वोः: of the two eager to slay each other
• Type: Adjective
• Root: परस्पर + वध + प्रेप्सु
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Dual

• वन-कुञ्जरयोः: of two wild elephants
• Type: Noun
• Root: वन + कुञ्जर
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Dual

• इव: like, as
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इव

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Dhṛtarāṣṭra
• Karṇa
• Bhīma (Bhīmasena)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights how intense enmity in war can reduce combatants to a single-minded urge to kill, likened to wild elephants. Implicitly, it warns that such fixation can overshadow restraint and the wider demands of dharma, even when one is acting within a warrior’s battlefield role.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya begins reporting to King Dhṛtarāṣṭra the detailed account of the duel-like battle between Karṇa and Bhīma, emphasizing that both fighters are fiercely eager to slay one another.