Mahabharata · 7.24.43–44
॥
Devanāgarī
पुत्रस् ते दुर्जयश् चैव जयश् च विजयश् च ह ॥
नीलं काश्यं जयं शूरास् त्रयस् त्रीन् प्रत्यवारयन् ॥
तद् युद्धम् अभवद् घोरम् ईक्षितृप्रीतिवर्धनम् ॥
सिंहव्याघ्रतरक्षूणां यथेभमहिषर्षभैः ॥
Transliteration (IAST)
putras te durjayaś caiva jayaś ca vijayaś ca ha ||
nīlaṃ kāśyaṃ jayaṃ śūrās trayas trīn pratyavārayan ||
tad yuddham abhavad ghoram īkṣitṛprītivardhanam ||
siṃhavyāghratarakṣūṇāṃ yathebhamahiṣarṣabhaiḥ ||
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
पुत्रः तेputraḥ teyour son; [your] son
दुर्जयःdurjayaḥDurjaya; Durjaya
च एवca evaand [also]; and
जयःjayaḥJaya; Jaya
चcaand; —
विजयःvijayaḥVijaya; Vijaya
चcaand; —
हhaindeed [moreover]; —
नीलम्nīlamNila; Nila
काश्यम्kāśyamthe Kashyan; the Kashyan
जयम्jayamJaya; Jaya
शूराःśūrāḥheroes [the brave ones]; warriors
त्रयःtrayaḥthree; three
त्रीन्trīnthe three; the three
प्रत्यवारयन्pratyavārayanchecked [repelled]; checked
तत् युद्धम्tat yuddhamthat battle; [that] battle
अभवत्abhavatwas [became]; arose
घोरम्ghoramterrible [fearsome]; fearsome
ईक्षितृप्रीतिवर्धनम्īkṣitṛprītivardhanamgladdening the onlookers [delightful to those who beheld it]; delightful to those who beheld it
सिंहव्याघ्रतरक्षूणाम्siṃhavyāghratarakṣūṇāmof lions, tigers and hyenas; of lions, tigers and hyenas
यथाyathāas [like]; just as
इभमहिषर्षभैःibhamahiṣarṣabhaiḥwith elephants, buffaloes and bulls; [the battle] of elephants, buffaloes and bulls
Translation
Your sons Durjaya, Jaya and Vijaya -- three warriors -- checked three men: Nila, the Kashyan, [and] Jaya. That battle arose fearsome, delightful to those who beheld it -- just like the battle of lions, tigers and hyenas with elephants, buffaloes and bulls.
Version
788203b250e4 · published Jul 19, 2026, 3:11:21 PM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
Three against three -- an equal count, and so the sight especially grips the onlookers. The likening of predators to mighty herbivores -- lions and elephants, tigers and buffaloes -- pictures the clash of two kinds of strength: the fury of attack and the might of resistance. It is telling that the battle is again called "delightful to those who beheld it": the tradition does not hide that war can be a gripping spectacle, one that powerfully draws the eye. The verse teaches that in an evenly matched fight there is an alluring symmetry that draws the observer in; but that this very delight in slaughter hides a temptation -- to forget, in the beauty of the spectacle, its bloody essence; and that the wise man distinguishes admiration for the fighters' valor from sober remembrance that living beings perish behind a "delightful spectacle."