Shloka 31

Devanagari script

पुन: कुञ्जरशार्दूलौ पुन: स्वर्भानुभास्करौ । एवं मायाशतसृजावन्योन्यवधकाड्क्षिणौ

Transliteration

punaḥ kuñjaraśārdūlau punaḥ svarbhānubhāskarau | evaṃ māyāśatasṛjāv anyonyavadhakāṅkṣiṇau ||

Translation

ಮತ್ತೆ ಅವರು ಮಹಾಕುಂಜರ ಮತ್ತು ಶಾರ್ದೂಲ (ಹುಲಿ)ಗಳಂತೆ, ಮತ್ತೆ ಸ್ವರ್ಭಾನು (ರಾಹು) ಮತ್ತು ಸೂರ್ಯನಂತೆ ಆದರು. ಹೀಗೆ ನೂರಾರು ಮಾಯೆಗಳನ್ನು ಸೃಷ್ಟಿಸುವಲ್ಲಿ ನಿಪುಣರಾದ ಆ ಇಬ್ಬರು, ಪರಸ್ಪರ ವಧವನ್ನು ಬಯಸುತ್ತ ಮುಖಾಮುಖಿಯಾಗಿ ನಿಂತರು.

Word by Word

पुनःagain

कुञ्जर-शार्दूलौthe elephant and the tiger

पुनःagain

स्वर्भानु-भास्करौSvarbhānu (Rāhu) and the Sun

एवम्thus, in this manner

माया-शत-सृजौthe two who create hundreds of illusions

अन्योन्य-वध-काङ्क्षिणौthe two desiring each other's death

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Svarbhānu (Rāhu)

Bhāskara (Sun)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights how warfare can become a cycle of escalating hostility where strength is paired with deception (māyā). Ethically, it warns that when the aim narrows to mutual destruction, even great prowess turns into a contest of annihilation rather than a pursuit of righteous order (dharma).

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes two principal fighters (implied from context) resuming their clash with renewed ferocity. Their opposition is compared to elephant vs. tiger and to Rāhu vs. the Sun, emphasizing repeated engagement, formidable power, and the use of many tactical ruses, with each seeking the other’s death.