Shloka 34
मम पुत्रो महावीर्य इन्द्रविष्णुसमद्युति: । शत्रुभिरबहुभि: संख्ये पराक्रम्य हतो बली,(वे बोले--) <देवर्षे! मेरा पुत्र इन्द्र और विष्णुके समान तेजस्वी, महापराक्रमी और बलवान था; परंतु युद्धमें बहुत-से शत्रुओंने मिलकर एक साथ पराक्रम करके उसे मार डाला है
mama putro mahāvīrya indraviṣṇusamadyutiḥ | śatrubhir abahubhiḥ saṅkhye parākramya hato balī ||
Vyāsa said: “My son was a hero of great might, radiant like Indra and Viṣṇu. Yet on the battlefield, many enemies together, combining their prowess, struck down that powerful one.”
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the fragility of individual excellence amid war: even a supremely radiant and powerful warrior can fall when many opponents unite. It invites ethical reflection on how victory is pursued—whether by fair single combat or by collective overpowering—and on the sorrow that follows violence regardless of prowess.
Vyāsa speaks in grief, describing his son as extraordinarily heroic and radiant like Indra and Viṣṇu, but reports that in the battle he was killed when numerous enemies together attacked with combined force.