Shloka 22
द्रोणपर्व — पञ्चदशोऽध्यायः (Droṇa Parva, Chapter 15): युधिष्ठिर-रक्षा तथा अर्जुनस्य शरवृष्टिः
नखैरिव महाव्याप्रौ दनतैरिव महागजौ । तौ विचेरतुरासाद्य गदाग्रया भ्यां परस्परम्,जैसे दो बड़े व्याप्र पंजोंसे और दो विशाल हाथी दाँतोंसे आपसमें प्रहार करते हैं, उसी प्रकार भीमसेन और शल्य गदाओंके अग्रभागसे एक-दूसरेपर प्रहार करते हुए विचर रहे थे
nakhair iva mahāvyāghrau dantair iva mahāgajau | tau viceratur āsādya gadāgrābhyāṃ parasparam ||
Sañjaya said: Like two mighty tigers striking with their claws, or two great elephants goring with their tusks, Bhīmasena and Śalya closed upon one another and ranged about, each smiting the other with the foreparts of their maces—an image of war’s ferocity where strength and resolve, rather than moral persuasion, decide the moment.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the raw, impersonal force of battlefield duty: in the kṣatriya sphere, conflict can reduce to sheer power and endurance, vividly conveyed through animal similes that highlight how violence escalates when opponents are evenly matched.
Sañjaya describes Bhīmasena and Śalya closing distance and striking one another with the front ends of their maces, moving about in mutual attack, compared to tigers clawing and elephants goring.