Shloka 456

भीष्मधनंजयद्वैरथम्

Bhīṣma–Dhanaṃjaya Duel and the Opening Clash

Devanagari script

निर्विशेषमयुध्येतां कृतप्रतिकृतेषिणौ । वे दोनों वीर अत्यन्त हर्षमें भरकर युद्धका अभिनन्दन करनेवाले थे। दोनों ही दोनोंके किये हुए प्रहारका प्रतीकार करते हुए समानभावसे युद्ध करने लगे

Transliteration

sañjaya uvāca | nirviśeṣam ayudhyetāṃ kṛta-pratikṛteṣiṇau |

Translation

三阇耶说道：两位勇士交战不分高下，谁也不占便宜；各自只求以击还击，化解对方的攻势。二人以战为乐，招招相对、击击相偿，势均力敌——这正是武者决心的写照：以技艺求即时回报，而非退让克制。

Word by Word

• निर्विशेषम्: without distinction, equally
• निर्विशेषम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: निर्विशेष
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• अयुध्येताम्: the two fought
• अयुध्येताम्: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: युध्
• Form: Imperfect (Lan), 3rd, Dual, Atmanepada

• कृत: in (the) done (acts)
• कृत: Adhikarana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कृ
• Form: Past passive participle (kta), Neuter, Locative, Plural

• प्रतिकृतेषिणौ: the two seeking counter-action/retaliation
• प्रतिकृतेषिणौ: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: प्रतिकृतेषिन्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Dual

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights a battlefield ethic of immediate requital—each warrior seeks to answer the other’s action with a counter-action. It implicitly contrasts the momentum of retaliation with the ideal of restraint, showing how combat can become a cycle of response where equality of force sustains the duel.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes two unnamed heroes locked in a balanced duel. Neither gains a clear advantage; instead, they fight with equal intensity, each countering the other’s strikes, rejoicing in the contest as they continue the exchange of blows.