Shloka 31

Devanagari script

राजन! इस प्रकार जब वह भयंकर संग्राम चल रहा था, उसी समय राजा दुर्योधनका छोटा भाई आपका पुत्र दुःशासन निर्भय हो बाणोंकी वर्षा करता हुआ भीमसेनपर चढ़ आया। उसे देखते ही भीमसेन भी बड़े उतावले होकर उसकी ओर दौड़े और जिस प्रकार सिंह महारुकु नामक मृगपर आक्रमण करता है, उसी प्रकार उसके पास जा पहुँचे ।। ततस्तयोर्युद्धमतीव दारुणं प्रदीव्यतो: प्राणदुरोदरं द्वयो: । परस्परेणाभिनिविष्टरोषयो- रुदग्रयो: शम्बरशक्रयोर्यथा

Transliteration

tatas tayor yuddham atīva dāruṇaṁ pradīvyatoḥ prāṇadurodaraṁ dvayoḥ | paraspareṇābhiniviṣṭaroṣayor udagrayoḥ śambaraśakrayor yathā ||

Translation

三阇耶说道：大王啊！当那可怖的鏖战正酣之际，杜尤陀那之弟、你的儿子杜沙娑那无所畏惧，箭雨纷飞，直扑毗摩仙。毗摩仙一见之下亦急切奔赴，如雄狮扑击名为摩诃鲁鲁之兽。于是二人之间燃起极其惨烈的死斗，仿佛以性命为赌注；怒火相向、寸步不让，二位猛士交锋，恰似古时商婆罗与帝释天因陀罗（释迦）之战。

Word by Word

ततःthen/thereupon

तयोःof the two (of them)

युद्धम्battle

अतीवexceedingly

दारुणम्terrible, dreadful

प्रदीव्यतोःof the two who were blazing/playing (in combat)

प्राणदुरोदरम्with life at stake; risking life

द्वयोःof the two

परस्परेणmutually, with each other

अभिनिविष्टरोषयोःof the two whose wrath was fixed/engaged (against each other)

उदग्रयोःof the two lofty/impetuous (warriors)

शम्बरशक्रयोःof Śambara and Śakra (Indra)

यथाas, just as

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sanjaya

Duryodhana

Duhshasana

Bhimasena (Bhima)

Indra (Śakra)

Śambara

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 highlights how mutual wrath, once fully entrenched, makes conflict a ‘wager of life’ (prāṇa-durodara). It cautions that anger escalates violence beyond strategy into existential risk, even for mighty warriors, and frames battlefield valor alongside the moral peril of rage-driven action.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sanjaya describes Bhima and Duhshasana meeting in an extremely fierce duel. Their mutual anger is emphasized, and their clash is compared to the mythic confrontation between Indra (Śakra) and the asura Śambara, signaling a titanic, life-staking encounter.