Mahabharata 7.180.29 — Drona Parva, Adhyaya 180, Shloka 29

Devanagari script

तावन्योन्यमभिद्रुत्य केशेषु सुमहाबलौ । भुजाभ्यां पर्यगृह्नीतां महाकायौ महाबलौ

Transliteration

tāv anyonyam abhidrutya keśeṣu sumahābalau | bhujābhyāṁ paryagṛhṇītāṁ mahākāyau mahābalau ||

Translation

సంజయుడు అన్నాడు—అత్యంత బలవంతులైన, మహాకాయులైన వారు ఇద్దరూ పరస్పరం మీదకు దూకి జుట్టు పట్టుకున్నారు; భుజాలతో బిగిగా పట్టుకొని కుస్తీగా గుద్దుకున్నారు.

Word by Word

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

• अन्योन्यम्: each other / mutually
• अन्योन्यम्: Karma
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अन्योन्य

• अभिद्रुत्य: having rushed at / having charged
• अभिद्रुत्य: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: अभि + द्रु (धातु)
• Form: Absolutive (Gerund), Parasmaipada (usage)

• केशेषु: in/at the hair (by the hair)
• केशेषु: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: केश
• Form: Masculine, Locative, Plural

• सुमहाबलौ: very mighty (two)
• सुमहाबलौ: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सु-महाबल
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Dual

• भुजाभ्याम्: with (their) two arms
• भुजाभ्याम्: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: भुजा
• Form: Feminine, Instrumental, Dual

• पर्यगृह्नीताम्: they seized / they grasped
• पर्यगृह्नीताम्: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: परि + ग्रह् (धातु)
• Form: Imperfect (Laṅ), 3rd, Dual, Parasmaipada

• ताम्: them (those two) / each other (as object)
• ताम्: Karma
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Dual

• महाकायौ: huge-bodied (two)
• महाकायौ: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महाकाय
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Dual

• महाबलौ: mighty (two)
• महाबलौ: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महाबल
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Dual

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the dehumanizing intensity of battle: even great warriors can be driven from disciplined weapon-combat into primal grappling. Ethically, it points to how anger and pride can overpower self-control, a recurring Mahābhārata warning about the costs of unchecked wrath in dharma-yuddha.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya narrates a close-quarters clash between two exceptionally strong, large-bodied fighters. They charge at each other, seize one another by the hair, and lock in a forceful clinch using their arms, indicating a fierce struggle at very close range.