Shloka 24
नारायणास्त्र-शमनं द्रौणि-प्रहारश्च
Pacification of the Nārāyaṇāstra and Drauni’s Renewed Assault
महद् युद्ध तयोरासीद् घोररूपं भयानकम् । यथा देवासुरे युद्धे शम्बरामरराजयो:,पूर्वकालमें देवासुर-संग्रामके अवसरपर शम्बरासुर और इन्द्रमें जैसा युद्ध हुआ था, वैसा ही घोर भयानक एवं महान् युद्ध उन दोनोंमें भी हुआ
mahad yuddhaṃ tayor āsīd ghorarūpaṃ bhayānakam | yathā devāsure yuddhe śambarāmararājayoḥ ||
Sañjaya said: A mighty battle arose between those two—terrible in form and fearsome to behold. It was like the ancient clash of gods and demons, when Śambara the Asura fought with Indra, the king of the immortals. The comparison underscores how the warriors’ fury had escalated into a near-cosmic violence, where prowess and wrath eclipse restraint and the field becomes a test of endurance, duty, and fate.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse uses a Deva–Asura war simile to show how human conflict can swell into a destructive, almost cosmic force. Ethically, it warns that when anger and rivalry dominate, battle becomes ‘ghora’ (terrible), testing whether warriors can still act within dharma rather than being consumed by fear and fury.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that an intense duel has erupted between two principal fighters (unnamed in this single verse). He emphasizes its severity by comparing it to the legendary fight between Śambara the Asura and Indra during an ancient Deva–Asura conflict.