tayor evaḿ praharatoḥ
sama-śikṣā-balaujasoḥ
nirviśeṣam abhūd yuddham
akṣīṇa-javayor nṛpa
tayoh -- of the two; evam -- thus; praharatoh -- striking; sama -- equal; siksha -- whose training; bala -- strength; ojasoh -- and stamina; nirvisesham -- indecisive; abhut -- was; yuddham -- the fight; akshina -- undiminished; javayoh -- whose exertion; nripa -- O King.
As they thus fought, this contest between opponents of equal training, strength and stamina reached no conclusion. And so they kept on fighting, O King, without any letup.
Some acaryas include the following two verses in the text of this chapter, and Srila Prabhupada has also translated them in Krishna:
evam tayor maha-raja
yudhyatoh sapta-vimsatih
dinani niragams tatra
suhrid-van nisi tishthatoh
ekada matuleyam vai
praha rajan vrikodarah
na sakto 'ham jarasandham
nirjetum yudhi madhava
"Thus, O King, they continued to fight for twenty-seven days. At the end of each day's fighting, both lived at night as friends in Jarasandha's palace. Then on the twenty-eighth day, O King, Vrikodara [Bhima] told his maternal cousin, 'Madhava, I cannot defeat Jarasandha in battle.' "
