Shloka 29
Chapter 12: Arjuna’s suppression of the Saṃśaptakas and duel with Aśvatthāmā
Drauṇi
क्ष्ेडितास्फोटितरवैर्बाणशब्दैस्तु सर्वतः । तौ जन हर्षयन्तौ च सिंहनादं प्रचक्रतु:,उन दोनों महारथियोंने युद्धस्थलमें एक-दूसरेके सुन्दर धनुष काटकर तुरंत ही सारथि और घोड़े भी मार डाले ।। विरथावसियुद्धाय समाजग्मतुराहवे । शतचन्द्रचिते गृह चर्मणी सुभुजी तथा फिर वे सुन्दर भुजाओंवाले दोनों वीर रथहीन होकर सौ चन्द्राकार चिह्नोंसे युक्त ढाल और तलवार लिये खड्ग-युद्धके लिये उद्यत हो युद्धस्थलमें एक-दूसरेके सामने आये
kṣeditāsphoṭita-ravair bāṇa-śabdais tu sarvataḥ | tau jana-harṣayantau ca siṃha-nādaṃ pracakratuḥ || virathāv asi-yuddhāya samājagmatūr āhave | śata-candra-cite gṛhya carmaṇī subhujī tathā ||
Sañjaya said: Amid the clashing and cracking din on every side—arrows hissing and striking—the two heroes, delighting the watching warriors, raised lion-roars. Having cut each other’s fine bows and swiftly slain the charioteers and horses, they were left without chariots. Then, those strong-armed champions, taking up shields marked with a hundred moon-emblems and their swords, advanced on the battlefield to meet one another, ready for close combat—an escalation that displays both their martial resolve and the grim ethic of kṣatriya warfare where honor is pursued even when the means of battle change.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the kṣatriya ethic of steadfastness and honor in battle: when chariot warfare collapses (bows cut, horses and charioteers slain), the warriors do not withdraw but adapt to a new mode of combat, meeting face-to-face with sword and shield. It also underscores how public acclaim and martial display (lion-roars) can intensify violence, reminding readers that valor and ethical restraint must be held in tension within dharma.
Sañjaya describes two great warriors whose bows are cut and whose charioteers and horses are killed, leaving them chariotless. They then take up shields decorated with many moon-like emblems and their swords, and advance toward each other to fight in close combat, accompanied by the loud din of arrows and their lion-like battle-cries.