Shloka 53
भीष्मधनंजयद्वैरथम्
Bhīṣma–Dhanaṃjaya Duel and the Opening Clash
Devanagari script
यतमानोौ तु तौ वीरावन्योन्यस्य वध प्रति
Transliteration
yatamānau tu tau vīrāv anyonyasya vadha prati
Translation
సంజయుడు పలికెను—ఆ ఇద్దరు వీరులు పరస్పర వధను లక్ష్యంగా చేసుకొని సంపూర్ణ ప్రయత్నంతో ముందుకు దూసుకుపోయిరి.
Word by Word
यतमानौstriving, exerting
यतमानौ:
Karta
TypeAdjective
Rootयतमान (यत् धातु, आत्मनेपदी वर्तमानकृदन्त)
FormMasculine, Nominative, Dual
तुbut/indeed
तु:
TypeIndeclinable
Rootतु
तौthose two
तौ:
Karta
TypePronoun
Rootतद्
FormMasculine, Nominative, Dual
वीरौheroes/warriors
वीरौ:
Karta
TypeNoun
Rootवीर
FormMasculine, Nominative, Dual
अन्योन्यस्यof each other
अन्योन्यस्य:
TypePronoun
Rootअन्योन्य
FormMasculine/Neuter, Genitive, Singular
वधम्slaying, killing
वधम्:
Karma
TypeNoun
Rootवध
FormMasculine, Accusative, Singular
प्रतिtowards/for (in regard to)
प्रति:
TypeIndeclinable
Rootप्रति
Speaker
संजय उवाच
Characters & Entities
स
संजय (Sañjaya)त
तौ वीरौ (the two heroes/warriors—unnamed in this half-verse)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
The line highlights the grim reciprocity of war: when duty and enmity harden into mutual intent to kill, heroism becomes inseparable from moral peril, reminding the listener that violence—even when framed as kṣatriya action—carries a heavy ethical weight.
Sañjaya describes two opposing warriors locked in combat, both exerting themselves intensely and moving toward the decisive act of killing the other—an image of escalating duel-like confrontation within the larger Kurukṣetra war.