Shloka 31

Nakula–Śakuni Duel and the Night Battle; Śikhaṇḍin–Kṛpa Engagement (नकुल-शकुनियुद्धं तथा रात्रियुद्धवर्णनम्)

Devanagari script

सम्प्रैक्षन्त जनास्तौ तु युध्यमानौ युधाम्पती

Transliteration

sampraikṣanta janās tau tu yudhyamānau yudhāmpatī

Translation

Sañjaya said: The people looked on as those two lords of battle fought, watching their combat with tense attention amid the moral weight and spectacle of war.

Word by Word

• सम्प्रैक्षन्त: were watching, beheld
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम्-प्र-ईक्ष्
• Form: Imperfect (Laṅ), 3rd, Plural, Parasmaipada

• जनाः: people
• जनाः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: जन
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• तौ: those two (them)
• तौ: Karma
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Dual

• तु: but/indeed
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु

• युध्यमानौ: fighting (the two)
• Type: Verb
• Root: युध्
• Form: Present active participle (Śatṛ), Masculine, Accusative, Dual

• युधाम्पती: the two lords of battle
• Type: Noun
• Root: युधाम्पति
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Dual

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• the two battling warriors (unnamed in this half-verse)
• onlooking people

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the role of the witness in war: even when combat is framed as heroic, it is also a public moral spectacle, inviting reflection on dharma, responsibility, and the human cost of violence.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports that the assembled people are intently watching two great warriors locked in combat, emphasizing the intensity and prominence of their duel.