Shloka 63

ततः शिला: समादाय मुहूर्तमिव भारत । महाभ्रेरिव शैलेन्द्रौ युयुधाते महाबलौ,भारत! जब उस प्रदेशके सारे वृक्ष गिरा दिये गये, तब एक-दूसरेका वध करनेकी इच्छासे उन महाबली वीरोंने वहाँ ढेर-की-ढेर पड़ी हुई सैकड़ों शिलाएँ लेकर दो घड़ीतक इस प्रकार युद्ध किया, मानो दो पर्वतराज बड़े-बड़े मेघखण्डोंद्वारा परस्पर युद्ध कर रहे हों। वहाँकी शिलाएँ विशाल और अत्यन्त भयंकर थीं। वे देखनेमें महान्‌ वेगशाली वजच्धोंके समान जान पड़ती थीं। अमर्षमें भरे हुए वे दोनों योद्धा उन्हीं शिलाओंद्वारा एक-दूसरेको मारने लगे

tataḥ śilāḥ samādāya muhūrtam iva bhārata | mahābhrair iva śailendrau yuyudhāte mahābalau ||

Then, O Bhārata, taking up rocks, those two mighty warriors fought for what seemed like a brief while, as if two lordly mountains were battling one another with great masses of cloud. Driven by wrath and the desire to kill, they turned the very landscape into weapons, showing how ungoverned fury in combat can make even nature an instrument of destruction.

ततःthen, thereafter
ततः:
TypeIndeclinable
Rootततः
शिलाःrocks, stones
शिलाः:
Karma
TypeNoun
Rootशिला
FormFeminine, Accusative, Plural
समादायhaving taken up
समादाय:
TypeVerb
Rootसम्-आ-दा
FormAbsolutive (Gerund), Parasmaipada/Atmanepada-neutral
मुहूर्तम्for a moment (a muhurta)
मुहूर्तम्:
Adhikarana
TypeNoun
Rootमुहूर्त
FormMasculine, Accusative, Singular
इवas if, like
इव:
TypeIndeclinable
Rootइव
भारतO Bharata (address)
भारत:
TypeNoun
Rootभारत
FormMasculine, Vocative, Singular
महाभ्रेरिवwith a great cloud-mass (as if)
महाभ्रेरिव:
Karana
TypeNoun
Rootमहाभ्र
FormMasculine, Instrumental, Singular
शैलेन्द्रौtwo lords of mountains
शैलेन्द्रौ:
Karta
TypeNoun
Rootशैलेन्द्र
FormMasculine, Nominative, Dual
युयुधातेthey two fought
युयुधाते:
TypeVerb
Rootयुध्
FormImperfect (Lan), 3rd, Dual, Atmanepada
महाबलौthe two very-strong (heroes)
महाबलौ:
Karta
TypeAdjective
Rootमहाबल
FormMasculine, Nominative, Dual

वैशम्पायन उवाच

V
Vaiśampāyana
B
Bhārata (addressed listener)
Ś
śilāḥ (rocks/stones)
M
mahābhra (great cloud-masses)
Ś
śailendra (mountain-lords; metaphor for the two fighters)

Educational Q&A

The verse highlights how anger and the intent to kill can escalate conflict beyond conventional limits, turning even the natural environment into a means of harm; it implicitly cautions that unchecked fury in war erodes restraint and ethical boundaries.

Two powerful warriors, after exhausting or destroying the surrounding trees, seize heaps of rocks and continue fighting by hurling stones at each other; the scene is compared to two great mountains battling with massive cloud-banks.