Shloka 21
द्रोणपर्व — पञ्चदशोऽध्यायः (Droṇa Parva, Chapter 15): युधिष्ठिर-रक्षा तथा अर्जुनस्य शरवृष्टिः
ते गदे गदिनां श्रेष्ठौ समासाद्य परस्परम् । श्वसन्त्यौ नागकन्ये वा ससृजाते विभावसुम्,वे दोनों गदाएँ गदाधारियोंमें श्रेष्ठ भीमसेन और शल्यको पाकर परस्पर टकराती हुई फुफकारती नागकन्याओंकी भाँति अग्निकी सृष्टि करती थीं
te gade gadināṁ śreṣṭhau samāsādya parasparam | śvasantyau nāgakanye vā sasṛjāte vibhāvasum ||
Sañjaya said: Those two maces—wielded by the foremost of mace-fighters—met each other head-on. As they struck together, they seemed to hiss like serpent-maidens and to cast forth fire, intensifying the fearful spectacle of battle and the ruin born of wrathful combat.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores how unchecked martial fury turns skill into destructive spectacle: even weapons seem alive, hissing and spitting fire. It implicitly warns that prowess without restraint magnifies suffering in war.
Sañjaya describes a close-quarters mace exchange: two mighty maces collide repeatedly, and the impact is poetically likened to serpent-maidens hissing while producing fire—an image for sparks and the ferocity of the duel.