Shloka 11
Droṇa-parva Adhyāya 49: Yudhiṣṭhira’s Lament and Strategic Foreboding after Abhimanyu’s Fall
भ्रातृव्यौ सम्प्रजह्वाते पुरेव ऋयम्बकान्धकौ । वे दोनों वीर एक-दूसरेके शत्रु थे। अतः गदा हाथमें लेकर एक-दूसरेका वध करनेकी इच्छासे परस्पर प्रहार करने लगे। ठीक उसी तरह, जैसे पूर्वकालमें भगवान् शंकर और अन्धकासुर परस्पर गदाका आघात करते थे ।। तावन्योन्यं गदाग्राभ्यामाहत्य पतितौ क्षितौ
sañjaya uvāca |
bhrātṛvyau samprajahvāte pureva ṛyambakāndhakau |
tāv anyonyaṃ gadāgrābhyām āhatya patitau kṣitau ||
Sañjaya said: The two rival kinsmen closed in upon each other, like Śiva (Tryambaka) and the demon Andhaka in ancient times. Striking one another with the heavy heads of their maces, they both fell to the ground. The simile underscores how, in the fury of war, even those bound by kinship can be driven into mutual destruction when enmity eclipses restraint and dharma.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how unchecked enmity can overpower bonds of kinship, leading to mutual ruin. By invoking Śiva’s battle with Andhaka, it frames the combat as intense and fated, while implicitly warning that dharma is endangered when rage and rivalry dominate.
Sañjaya describes two hostile kinsmen charging into close combat with maces. They strike each other with the mace-heads and, from the force of the blows, both collapse onto the ground—likened to the ancient clash between Śiva (Tryambaka) and the asura Andhaka.