Shloka 23

शल्यपरिघातः (Śalya Under Encirclement) — Mahābhārata, Śalya-parva, Adhyāya 12

Devanagari script

क्रियाविशेषकृतिनौ रणभूमितले5चलौ । तौ परस्परसंरम्भाद्‌ गदाभ्यां सुभशाहतौ

Transliteration

kriyā-viśeṣa-kṛti-nau raṇabhūmi-tale 'calau | tau paraspara-saṃrambhād gadābhyāṃ subhṛśa-āhatau ||

Translation

Санджая сказал: На земле поля брани те двое — мастера разнообразных и искусных приёмов — стояли твёрдо, не сдвигаясь. Но, разожжённые взаимной яростью, они с огромной силой били друг друга булавами.

Word by Word

• क्रियाविशेषकृतिनौ: skilled in special maneuvers/feats
• क्रियाविशेषकृतिनौ: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: क्रियाविशेषकृति
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Dual

• रणभूमितले: on the ground of the battlefield
• रणभूमितले: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: रणभूमितल
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Singular

• चलौ: moving, active
• चलौ: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: चल
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Dual

• तौ: those two
• तौ: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Dual

• परस्परसंरम्भात्: from mutual fury/impetuosity
• परस्परसंरम्भात्: Apadana
• Type: Noun
• Root: परस्परसंरम्भ
• Form: Masculine, Ablative, Singular

• गदाभ्याम्: with (their) two maces
• गदाभ्याम्: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: गदा
• Form: Feminine, Instrumental, Dual

• सुभृशाहतौ: violently struck (hard-hit)
• सुभृशाहतौ: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सुभृश + आहत
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Dual

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• संजय (Sañjaya)
• रणभूमि (battlefield)
• गदा (mace)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights how even great skill and steadiness in battle can be overtaken by mutual rage (saṃrambha), suggesting an ethical warning: anger intensifies violence and narrows judgment, turning prowess into destructive escalation.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes two warriors on the battlefield standing firm, then—provoked by mutual fury—striking one another powerfully with maces, emphasizing both their technical mastery and the ferocity of the exchange.