Shloka 12
देवसत्रे मृत्युनिरोधः, पूर्वेन्द्राणां मानुषावतरणम्, द्रौपदी-वरकथनम्
Suspension of Death at the Devasatra; Former Indras’ Human Descent; Draupadī’s Boon Etiology
तावुभावप्यनिर्देश्यौ लाघवाज्जयतां वरौ । अयुध्येतां सुसंरब्धावन्योन्यविजिगीषिणौ
vaiśampāyana uvāca |
tāv ubhāv apy anirdeśyau lāghavāj jayatāṃ varau |
ayudhyetāṃ susaṃrabdhāv anyonya-vijigīṣiṇau ||
Vaiśampāyana sprach: Jene beiden, die Besten unter den siegreichen Helden, waren aufgrund ihrer schnellen Gewandtheit nicht als größer oder geringer zu unterscheiden. Von heftiger Wut entflammt und jeder darauf aus, den anderen zu bezwingen, kämpften sie weiter.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how sheer martial agility and the thirst for victory can make opponents appear evenly matched, while anger (saṃrambha) drives conflict forward—an implicit caution that prowess without restraint tends to intensify rivalry rather than resolve it.
Vaiśampāyana describes two eminent warriors engaged in combat. Their speed and dexterity are so equal that no one can say who is superior; both, burning with rage, fight with the single aim of defeating the other.