अथ तौ नित्यसंहृष्टौ सुयोधनवृकोदरौ ॥
अवतीर्णौ गदाहस्ताव् एकशृङ्गाव् इवाचलौ ॥
बद्धकक्ष्यौ महाबाहू पौरुषे पर्यवस्थितौ ॥
बृंहन्तौ वाशिताहेतोः समदाव् इव कुञ्जरौ ॥
तौ प्रदक्षिणसव्यानि मण्डलानि महाबलौ ॥
चेरतुर् निर्मलगदौ समदाव् इव गोवृषौ ॥
विदुरो धृतराष्ट्राय गान्धार्यै पाण्डवारणिः ॥
न्यवेदयेतां तत् सर्वं कुमाराणां विचेष्टितम् ॥
atha tau nityasaṃhṛṣṭau suyodhanavṛkodarau ||
avatīrṇau gadāhastāv ekaśṛṅgāv ivācalau ||
baddhakakṣyau mahābāhū pauruṣe paryavasthitau ||
bṛṃhantau vāśitāhetoḥ samadāv iva kuñjarau ||
tau pradakṣiṇasavyāni maṇḍalāni mahābalau ||
ceratur nirmalagadau samadāv iva govṛṣau ||
viduro dhṛtarāṣṭrāya gāndhāryai pāṇḍavāraṇiḥ ||
nyavedayetāṃ tat sarvaṃ kumārāṇāṃ viceṣṭitam ||
'Then those two, ever eager for contest, Duryodhana and Bhima, descended onto the arena with maces in hand, like two single-peaked mountains; girded, mighty-armed, firmly set in their manhood, bellowing like two elephants in rut over a female elephant. Those two mighty ones, tracing circles clockwise and counterclockwise, moved about with gleaming maces, like two rutting bulls. And Vidura related to Dhritarashtra, and the mother of the Pandavas to Gandhari, everything that the princes were doing.'
a30b58a8d366 · published Jul 12, 2026, 4:53:32 PM UTC
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Here the exhibition arrives at the fateful duel of Duryodhana and Bhima. Telling is their comparison to two 'elephants in rut over a female elephant' and to 'maddened bulls': their contest is no longer a game but a clash of rivals in which long-standing enmity seethes. One sees here that beneath the guise of exercise a true discord flares up: what for others is a display of skill is, for these two, the continuation of their childhood struggle, ready to turn to blood. Touching too is the detail that Vidura describes the spectacle to the blind Dhritarashtra, while Kunti describes it to Gandhari, who has willingly covered her eyes. The scripture reveals here both the compassion of kin toward the sightless and a bitter symbol: both parents of the Kauravas 'do not see' what is happening — neither with their eyes nor with their hearts; and while the valor of their sons is recounted to them, they are blind to the enmity ripening between them, which will destroy the line.