Shloka 15

Devanagari script

तयो: समभवद्‌ युद्ध क्रुद्धयो राक्षसेन्द्रयो: । मत्तयोरवासिताहेतोर्द्धिपयोरिव कानने,फिर तो क्रोधमें भरे हुए उन दोनों राक्षसराजोंमें वनके भीतर हथिनीके लिये लड़नेवाले दो मतवाले हाथियोंके समान घोर युद्ध होने लगा

Transliteration

tayoḥ samabhavad yuddhaṁ kruddhayo rākṣasendrayōḥ | mattayor avasita-hetor dvipayor iva kānane ||

Translation

Sañjaya said: Between those two enraged lords of the Rākṣasas, a fierce battle arose—like two intoxicated elephants in a forest, driven by a fixed cause, fighting for the sake of a she-elephant. The simile underscores how wrath and possessive impulse can turn strength into blind, destructive violence on the battlefield.

Word by Word

तयोःof those two

समभवत्arose/occurred

युद्धम्battle

क्रुद्धयोःof the enraged (two)

राक्षसेन्द्रयोःof the two lords of the Rakshasas

मत्तयोःof the two intoxicated/maddened (ones)

अवासिताहेतोःof (those) having the cause of (a female) in heat (i.e., for a mate)

द्विपयोःof the two elephants

इवlike/as

काननेin the forest

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

two rākṣasa-kings (unnamed in this verse)

forest (kānana)

two elephants (dvipa)

she-elephant (implied by the simile: avasita-hetu)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights how anger and fixation on a motive can make even powerful beings act like maddened elephants—strength becomes indiscriminate destruction. Implicitly, it contrasts such rage-driven combat with the restraint and discernment expected by dharma.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes a violent clash between two enraged rākṣasa leaders. Their combat is compared to two intoxicated elephants fighting in a forest over a she-elephant, emphasizing the ferocity and blind intensity of the encounter.