Shloka 7

अर्जुनस्य जयद्रथाभिमुखप्रयाणं तथा कर्णेन प्रतिरोधः

Arjuna’s renewed advance toward Jayadratha and Karṇa’s resistance

Devanagari script

तयोरभूद्‌ भारत सम्प्रहार: सुदारुणस्तं समतिप्रशंसन्‌ । योधास्त्वदीयाक्ष हि सोमकाश्र वृत्रेन्द्रयोर्युद्धमिवामरौघा:,भारत! उन दोनों वीरोंमें बड़ा भयंकर संग्राम हुआ। जैसे देवगण वृत्रासुर और इन्द्रके युद्धकी गाथा गाते हैं, उसी प्रकार आपके योद्धाओं तथा सोमकोंने भी उन दोनोंके उस युद्धकी भूरि-भूरि प्रशंसा की

Transliteration

tayor abhūd bhārata samprahāraḥ sudāruṇas taṃ samatipraśaṃsan | yodhās tvadīyāś ca hi somakāś ca vṛtrendrayor yuddham ivāmaraughāḥ ||

Translation

Sañjaya said: O Bhārata, between those two heroes there arose a most dreadful clash. Your warriors and the Somakas alike extolled that combat again and again—just as the hosts of gods celebrate in song the battle between Indra and Vṛtra. The verse frames their duel as a cosmic-scale contest, admired for martial prowess even amid the grim ethics of fratricidal war.

Word by Word

• {'tayor': 'of those two', 'abhūt': 'arose

• came to be', 'bhārata': 'O Bhārata (address to Dhṛtarāṣṭra / descendant of Bharata)', 'samprahāraḥ': 'violent encounter

• clash', 'sudāruṇaḥ': 'very dreadful

• exceedingly fierce', 'tam': 'that (battle/encounter)', 'samatipraśaṃsan': 'they praised highly

• they lauded repeatedly', 'yodhāḥ': 'warriors

• fighters', 'tvadīyāḥ': 'your (belonging to you)', 'somakāḥ': 'the Somakas (Pāñcāla-aligned warriors

• Drupada’s side)', 'vṛtra': 'Vṛtra (the asura/serpent slain by Indra)', 'indrayor': 'of Indra (in the dual compound: of Vṛtra and Indra)', 'yuddham': 'battle

• war', 'iva': 'like

• as', 'amara-aughāḥ': 'hosts/streams of immortals

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Bhārata (Dhṛtarāṣṭra addressed as Bhārata)
• Kaurava warriors (tvadīyāḥ yodhāḥ)
• Somakas
• Indra
• Vṛtra
• Amaras (gods)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights how martial excellence is publicly celebrated even in a devastating war: observers praise a duel by comparing it to a mythic, cosmic battle (Indra vs. Vṛtra). It implicitly shows the tension between admiration for valor and the grim reality of destructive conflict.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that two leading warriors are engaged in an exceptionally fierce close combat. Both the Kaurava side and the Somakas acclaim the fight, likening it to the famed battle of Indra and Vṛtra sung by the gods.