Shloka 443
मुष्टिभिर्वज्संदह्ादैरन्योन्यमभिजध्नतु: । गदासे छूटते ही वे दोनों फिर एक-दूसरेसे गुथ गये और वज्रपातकी-सी आवाज करनेवाले मुक्कोंसे एक-दूसरेको मारने लगे
sañjaya uvāca | muṣṭibhir vajra-saṃghātair anyonyam abhijaghnatuḥ | gadāśe chūṭite hi te dvau punaḥ parasparaṃ guṭhāḥ babhūvatuḥ vajrapāta-samāṃ śabdaṃ kurvadbhiḥ muṣṭibhir anyonyam jaghnatuḥ |
Sañjaya said: With fists that struck like thunderbolts, the two battered one another. When their clubs and swords had slipped away, they closed again in a tight grapple and began to pummel each other with blows that rang like a thunderclap—an image of warriors driven beyond weapons into raw, relentless violence.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores how war can strip away restraint: when weapons fail, combatants may still cling to hostility, escalating into bare-handed brutality. Ethically, it highlights the danger of anger and vengeance overpowering discernment, even among trained warriors.
Sañjaya describes two fighters whose mace and sword have fallen or slipped away; they rush back into close quarters, grapple tightly, and strike each other with heavy, thunderbolt-like punches, the blows resounding like a thunderclap.