Shloka 31
पुन: कुञ्जरशार्दूलौ पुन: स्वर्भानुभास्करौ । एवं मायाशतसृजावन्योन्यवधकाड्क्षिणौ
punaḥ kuñjaraśārdūlau punaḥ svarbhānubhāskarau | evaṃ māyāśatasṛjāv anyonyavadhakāṅkṣiṇau ||
Sañjaya said: Once again they became like a mighty elephant and a tiger; once again like Rāhu (Svarbhānu) and the Sun—thus those two, skilled in casting hundreds of stratagems, confronted one another, each intent on the other’s death. The verse underscores how, in the fury of war, prowess and deception repeatedly return in cycles, and the combatants’ resolve hardens into a mutual will to destroy.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how warfare can become a cycle of escalating hostility where strength is paired with deception (māyā). Ethically, it warns that when the aim narrows to mutual destruction, even great prowess turns into a contest of annihilation rather than a pursuit of righteous order (dharma).
Sañjaya describes two principal fighters (implied from context) resuming their clash with renewed ferocity. Their opposition is compared to elephant vs. tiger and to Rāhu vs. the Sun, emphasizing repeated engagement, formidable power, and the use of many tactical ruses, with each seeking the other’s death.