Shloka 21
तदनन्तर सम्पूर्ण सेनाएँ पूर्वकालमें एक-दूसरेसे युद्ध करनेवाले इन्द्र और जम्भासुरके समान समरांगणमें परस्पर जूझते हुए उन दोनों शूरवीरोंको देखने लगीं ।। शकुनिं रभसं युद्धे कृतवैरं च भारत । माद्रीपुत्री च संरब्धौ शरैश्वार्दयतां भूशम्,भारत! क्रोधमें भरे हुए दोनों माद्रीकुमारोंने पहलेसे वैर बाँधनेवाले और युद्धमें वेगपूर्वक आगे बढ़नेवाले शकुनिको अपने बाणोंसे अत्यन्त पीड़ित किया
tadanantaraṁ sampūrṇāḥ senāḥ pūrvakāle parasparaṁ yuddhaṁ kurvantāv indra-jambhāsura-sadṛśau samara-aṅgaṇe parasparaṁ jujūṣamāṇau tau ubhau śūravīrau draṣṭuṁ pravavṛtuḥ. śakuniṁ rabhasaṁ yuddhe kṛtavairaṁ ca bhārata, mādrīputrau ca saṁrabdhau śaraiḥ ārdayatāṁ bhṛśam, bhārata; krodhabharitau ubhau mādrīkumārau pūrvavaira-bandhinaṁ yuddhe ca vegena abhipatantaṁ śakuniṁ svaiḥ śaraiḥ atyarthaṁ pīḍayām āsaṭām.
Sanjaya said: Thereafter the entire armies, like Indra and the demon Jambha of old locked in mutual combat, watched those two heroes grappling with each other on the battlefield. O Bharata, the two sons of Madri, inflamed with wrath, fiercely tormented Shakuni with their arrows—Shakuni who had long nursed enmity and who, in the press of battle, was charging forward with impetuous force. The scene underscores how accumulated hostility and anger drive warriors into escalating violence, drawing the whole host into witness of a conflict fueled as much by past grievance as by present duty.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how long-held enmity (vaira) and uncontrolled anger (krodha) intensify conflict. Even within a framework of warrior-duty, the narrative warns that personal grievance and rage can overtake discernment, turning battle into a cycle of retaliation witnessed and amplified by the wider host.
After a major clash begins, the armies watch two principal fighters locked in combat, compared to Indra and the asura Jambha. In this moment, Nakula and Sahadeva (Madri’s sons), furious and resolute, shower Shakuni—known for entrenched hostility and a forceful advance in battle—with arrows, severely wounding and harrying him.