पट्टैर् जाम्बूनदैर् बद्धा बभूव जनहर्षिणी ॥
प्रजज्वाल तथाविद्धा भीमेन महती गदा ॥
तथैव चरतो मार्गान् मण्डलानि च भागशः ॥
महाविद्युत्प्रतीकाशा शल्यस्य शुशुभे गदा ॥
तौ वृषाव् इव नर्दन्तौ मण्डलानि विचेरतुः ॥
आवर्जितगदाशृङ्गाव् उभौ शल्यवृकोदरौ ॥
मण्डलावर्तमार्गेषु गदाविहरणेषु च ॥
निर्विशेषम् अभूद् युद्धं तयोः पुरुषसिंहयोः ॥
paṭṭair jāmbūnadair baddhā babhūva janaharṣiṇī ||
prajajvāla tathāviddhā bhīmena mahatī gadā ||
tathaiva carato mārgān maṇḍalāni ca bhāgaśaḥ ||
mahāvidyutpratīkāśā śalyasya śuśubhe gadā ||
tau vṛṣāv iva nardantau maṇḍalāni viceratuḥ ||
āvarjitagadāśṛṅgāv ubhau śalyavṛkodarau ||
maṇḍalāvartamārgeṣu gadāviharaṇeṣu ca ||
nirviśeṣam abhūd yuddhaṃ tayoḥ puruṣasiṃhayoḥ ||
Banded with strips of gold, gladdening [the spectators], the enormous mace, twirled thus by Bhima, blazed up brightly. Likewise, as he [Shalya] traced [battle] figures and circling rounds in turn, Shalya's mace gleamed like a great flash of lightning. Both of them, roaring like bulls, wove circles — the two of them, Shalya and Vrikodara [Bhima], with lowered mace-horns. In the circular figures and in the skillful play of maces, the combat of those two lions among men was as something equal.
e9dd946cd7f5 · प्रकाशित 19 जुल॰ 2026, 3:00:04 pm UTC
उपलब्ध भाषाएँRUENश्लोक बदलें इन कुंजियों से
The maces of the two heroes are likened to lightning and themselves seem to "blaze up" as they whirl: the weapon, in the hands of a master, comes alive as if it were an elemental force. The image of two roaring bulls with "mace-horns" lends the duel a primal might. It is telling that their combat is "equal" — neither surpasses the other: a true single combat is a meeting of equals in which artistry, not superiority, shines forth. The verse teaches that in the hands of a master even a weapon reveals a beauty akin to that of the elements; that a true contest of equals is a lofty art, honored for its grace no less than for its force; and that the equality of rivals raises the combat to a spectacle in which no one is defeated in dignity.