Shloka 4.19.27
ताराविलापः — Tara’s Lament and Counsel after Vali’s Fall
सुप्त्वेव पुनरुत्थाय आर्यपुत्रेति शोचती।।रुरोद सा पतिं दृष्ट्वा संवीतं मृत्युदामभिः।
śakratulyaparākrāntaṃ vṛṣṭavā evoparataṃ ghanam | nardantaṃ nardatāṃ bhīmaṃ śūraṃ śūreṇa pātitam || śārdūlenāmiṣasyārthe mṛgarājaṃ yathāhatam |
Vāli—whose prowess was like Indra’s—lay fallen like a massive cloud stilled after it has poured down its rain; the dreadful hero, famed among roarers, had been brought down by another hero—like a lion slain by a tiger for the sake of flesh.
Tara got up again, as if she woke up from sleep and addressing her husband garlanded with death, lamented.
The verse underscores impermanence and the limits of might: even Indra-like power ends in death. Dharma therefore cannot rest on strength alone; it must rest on right conduct, because power is transient.
A vivid poetic description of Vāli’s fallen body after he has been struck down.
Heroism (śaurya) is acknowledged, but the verse also stresses sobriety: greatness does not exempt one from the moral and mortal order.