Shloka 2
Gadāyuddhe Kṛṣṇopadeśaḥ (Kṛṣṇa’s Counsel in the Mace-Duel) — Śalya-parva 57
समापेततुरन्योन्यं शृद्धिणौ वृषभाविव । महानिर्घातघोष श्ष् प्रहाराणामजायत,वे दोनों बड़े-बड़े सींगवाले दो साँड्रोंके समान एक-दूसरेसे भिड़ गये। उनके प्रहारोंकी आवाज महान् वजपातके समान भयंकर जान पड़ती थी
saṁāpetatur anyonyaṁ śṛṅgiṇau vṛṣabhāv iva | mahānirghātaghoṣaś ca prahārāṇām ajāyata ||
Sañjaya said: The two closed upon one another, like a pair of horned bulls locking in combat. The sound of their blows rose into a tremendous crash, as terrifying as a thunderbolt—signaling the fierce, unrelenting nature of the duel within the larger war.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how war reduces human conflict to brute-force collision—power meeting power—inviting reflection on the ethical cost of valor when it is expressed primarily through violence and domination.
Sañjaya describes two combatants rushing together and striking each other so fiercely that the noise of their blows resembles a massive thunderclap, emphasizing the intensity of the duel amid the battlefield.