Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.72.36
తతశ్చటచటాశబ్దో వజ్రనిష్పేససన్నిభ: ।
గదయో: క్షిప్తయో రాజన్దన్తయోరివ దన్తినో: ॥ ౩౬ ॥
tataś caṭa-caṭā-śabdo
[tatash chata-chataa-shabdo]
vajra-niṣpesa-sannibhaḥ
[vajra-nishpesa-sannibhah]
gadayoḥ kṣiptayo rājan
[gadayoh kshiptayo raajan]
dantayor iva dantinoḥ
[dantayor iva dantinoh]
Word-for-word
tataḥ
—
then
caṭa - caṭā - śabdaḥ
—
the clattering sound
vajra
—
of lightning
niṣpeṣa
—
the crash
sannibhaḥ
—
resembling
gadayoḥ
—
of their clubs
kṣiptayoḥ
—
being swung
rājan
—
O King (Parīkṣit)
dantayoḥ
—
of the tusks
iva
—
as if
dantinoḥ
—
of elephants .
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
tataś caṭa-caṭā-śabdo
tataḥ
then
caṭa - caṭā - śabdaḥ
the clattering sound
vajra-niṣpesa-sannibhaḥ
vajra
of lightning
niṣpeṣa
the crash
sannibhaḥ
resembling
gadayoḥ kṣiptayo rājan
gadayoḥ
of their clubs
kṣiptayoḥ
being swung
rājan
O King (Parīkṣit)
dantayor iva dantinoḥ
dantayoḥ
of the tusks
iva
as if
dantinoḥ
of elephants .
Important Words
-
caṭa-caṭā-śabdaḥ
—
the clattering sound
Compound nominative. Onomatopoeic — caṭa-caṭā mimics the crack of mace on mace. Sanskrit poetics permits this kind of sound-painting; Vyāsa employs it sparingly.
-
vajra-niṣpeṣa
—
the crash of lightning
Compound. Niṣpeṣa — the percussive grinding sound. The mace-impact is compared to the moment lightning strikes earth.
-
dantinoḥ
—
of two elephants
Genitive dual. Dantin — 'tusked one', elephant. The verse layers two similes: lightning and tusks. Bhīma and Jarāsandha are both at once.
When Jarāsandha’s and Bhīmasena’s clubs loudly collided, O King, the sound was like the impact of the big tusks of two fighting elephants, or the crash of a thunderbolt in a flashing electrical storm.
Purport
This translation is based on Śrīla Prabhupāda’s Kṛṣṇa.
— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Gauḍīya Ācāryas
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura
Gauḍīya
Translation
When Jarāsandha's and Bhīmasena's clubs loudly collided, O King, the sound was like the impact of the big tusks of two fighting elephants, or the crash of a thunderbolt in a flashing electrical storm.
Commentary
Their mutual blows with the clubs made a sound (cata cata), like the striking of thunder bolts or like the striking together of the tusks of fighting elephants.
Jīva Gosvāmī
Gauḍīya
Commentary
The clashing of their clubs as they beat each other (kṣiptayaḥ) was like the sound of thunder bolts striking.
Related values & verses
Concepts
Jiva
Personal Guidance
Analogy
When elephants clash, their tusks crack like temple-doors slamming; when storm clouds clash, the air splits. Bhīma and Jarāsandha's maces meet with both sounds at once. The verse is sonic — Vyāsa wants us to hear the duel before he describes it again.
My note
Source: vedabase.io