Shloka 34
गदायुद्ध-समारम्भः
Commencement of the Mace-Duel Proceedings
भविष्यति तयोरद्य युद्ध राम सुदारुणम् । यदि कौतूहलं ते$स्ति ब्रज माधव मा चिरम् | पश्य युद्ध महाघोरं शिष्ययोर्यदि मनन््यसे
bhaviṣyati tayor adya yuddhaṃ rāma sudāruṇam | yadi kautūhalaṃ te 'sti braja mādhava mā ciram | paśya yuddhaṃ mahāghoraṃ śiṣyayor yadi manyase ||
Nārada berkata: “Wahai Rāma, hari ini akan terjadi pertempuran yang sangat dahsyat antara kedua-duanya. Wahai Mādhava, jika engkau ingin menyaksikannya, pergilah segera—jangan berlengah. Jika engkau menganggapnya patut, saksikanlah dengan matamu sendiri pertempuran yang amat mengerikan antara dua orang muridmu.”
नारद उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical tension when a teacher’s two disciples become mortal enemies: even if one remains formally neutral, the impending violence demands discernment. Nārada’s counsel frames the event as momentous and morally weighty—something to be witnessed with awareness of dharma, not merely as spectacle.
Nārada informs Balarāma that a fierce duel will occur that very day between the two combatants—understood in context as Bhīma and Duryodhana, both trained by Balarāma in mace-fighting. He urges Kṛṣṇa (Mādhava) to go quickly and, if he thinks proper, to watch the terrifying battle between those two disciples.