Shloka 12
Chapter 30: Formation Disruption, Competing War-Cries, and Nīla’s Fall
Droṇa-parva
तौ रथात् सिंहसंकाशौ लोहिताक्षौ महाभुजौ । राजन् सम्पेततुर्वीरी सोदर्यावेकलक्षणौ,महाराज! वे दोनों वीर परस्पर सगे भाई होनेके कारण एक-जैसे लक्षणोंसे युक्त थे। दोनों ही सिंहके समान पराक्रमी, लाल नेत्रोंवाले तथा विशाल भुजाओंसे सुशोभित थे। वे दोनों एक ही साथ रथसे पृथ्वीपर गिर पड़े
tau rathāt siṁhasaṅkāśau lohitākṣau mahābhujau | rājan sampetatur vīrī sodaryāv ekalakṣaṇau ||
Sañjaya said: O King, those two heroic brothers—alike in appearance—both lion-like in prowess, red-eyed, and broad-armed, fell together from the chariot onto the earth.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the harsh equality of death in war: even equally gifted, closely related heroes can fall together. It invites reflection on the cost of conflict and the fragility of embodied life amid kṣatriya warfare.
Sañjaya reports to King Dhṛtarāṣṭra that two brother-warriors, alike in appearance and renowned for strength and ferocity, collapse together from their chariot onto the ground—signaling their defeat or death in the ongoing battle.