Shloka 5
बभूव युद्ध कुरुपाण्डवानां यथा सुराणामसुरै: सहाभवत् | तथा प्रवृत्ते तुमुले सुदारुणे धनंजयस्याधिरयथेश्ष॒ सायकै:
babhūva yuddhaṁ kurupāṇḍavānāṁ yathā surāṇām asuraiḥ saha abhavat | tathā pravṛtte tumule sudāruṇe dhanañjayasya adhirathaiś ca sāyakaiḥ ||
Sañjaya said: The battle between the Kurus and the Pāṇḍavas became like the ancient war of the gods with the asuras. As that tumultuous and exceedingly dreadful combat surged on, Dhanañjaya (Arjuna) and Adhiratha (Karna) assailed one another with volleys of arrows, each striving to prevail in a contest where valor and resolve were tested amid the ruinous demands of war.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames human warfare within a cosmic moral imagination: the Kurus and Pāṇḍavas clash with a ferocity likened to devas and asuras. It highlights how war magnifies resolve and rivalry, while implicitly warning that even righteous causes unfold amid terrifying violence and moral strain.
Sañjaya describes the battle intensifying into a chaotic, dreadful engagement. In this surge of combat, Arjuna (Dhanañjaya) and Karna (Adhiratha) confront each other directly, exchanging showers of arrows.