Shloka 20

Devanagari script

प्रगृह्ा विमलौ राजंस्तावन्योन्यमभिद्रुतौ । वासितासंगमे यत्तौ सिंहाविव महावने,राजन! जैसे महान्‌ वनमें एक सिंहनीके लिये दो सिंह लड़ते हों, उसी प्रकार चमकीले खड्ग लेकर धृष्टकेतु और पौरव दोनों विजयके लिये प्रयत्नशील हो एक-दूसरेपर टूट पड़े

Transliteration

sañjaya uvāca | pragṛhya vimalau rājan tāv anyonyam abhidrūtau | vāsitāsaṅgame yattau siṃhāv iva mahāvane ||

Translation

Sañjaya nói: “Tâu Đại vương, nắm chặt những thanh kiếm sáng ngời, hai người ấy lao vào nhau. Trong cuộc giáp chiến, họ gắng sức giành thắng lợi, xông tới như hai sư tử giữa rừng lớn tranh nhau một sư tử cái.”

Word by Word

प्रगृह्यhaving seized/taking up

विमलौtwo spotless/bright (ones)

राजन्O king

तौthose two

अन्योन्यम्each other

अभिद्रुतौhaving rushed at / charging

वासितासङ्गमेin the encounter of drawn/brandished (swords)

यत्तौwhich two

सिंहौtwo lions

इवlike/as

महावनेin the great forest

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Dhṛtarāṣṭra (implied by rājan)

Dhṛṣṭaketu

Paurava

swords (khaḍga)

great forest (mahāvana)

two lions (siṃhau)

lioness (vāsitā)

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 uses a lion-simile to show how the drive for supremacy (and the coveted 'prize') can turn warriors into relentless rivals, highlighting the ethical tension in war: valor and duty on one side, and the destructive pull of competitive desire on the other.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports to the king that Dhṛṣṭaketu and Paurava, with shining swords in hand, charge at each other and engage fiercely, likened to two lions battling in a great forest.