Shloka 26
Adhyāya 290: Kuntī’s Mantra-Parīkṣā and the Appearance of Sūrya (कुन्ती–सूर्यसंवादः)
तौ शरैराचितौ वीरौ भ्रातरौ रामलक्ष्मणौ | पेततुर्गगनाद् भूमिं सूर्याचन्द्रमसाविव,वे दोनों बन्धु श्रीराम और लक्ष्मण ऊपरसे नीचेतक बाणोंसे व्याप्त हो गये थे; अतः आकाशसे गिरे हुए सूर्य और चन्द्रमाकी भाँति इस पृथ्वीपर गिर पड़े
tau śarair ācitau vīrau bhrātarau rāma-lakṣmaṇau | petatur gaganād bhūmiṃ sūrya-candramasāv iva ||
Mārkaṇḍeya said: The two heroic brothers, Rāma and Lakṣmaṇa, were completely covered with arrows from head to foot; and so, like the sun and the moon fallen from the sky, they collapsed upon the earth. The image underscores how even the righteous may be brought low in battle, yet their fall is portrayed with cosmic dignity rather than disgrace.
मार्कण्डेय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames the heroes’ collapse not as moral failure but as the harsh reality of conflict: even dharmic figures can be overwhelmed by violence, yet their worth remains luminous—likened to the sun and moon—suggesting dignity and enduring moral stature amid suffering.
Mārkaṇḍeya narrates that the brothers Rāma and Lakṣmaṇa have been densely pierced and covered with arrows, and they fall from their elevated position down to the earth, compared poetically to the sun and moon dropping from the sky.