Shloka 6.43.29
द्वन्द्वयुद्धप्रवृत्तिः (Dvandva-Yuddha: The Onset of Single Combats)
पुनश्शरशतेनाथक्षिप्रहस्तोनिशाचरः ।बिभेदसमरेनीलंनिकुम्भःप्रजहासच ।।6.43.29।।
punaḥ śaraśatenātha kṣiprahasto niśācaraḥ |
bibheda samare nīlaṃ nikumbhaḥ prajahāsa ca || 6.43.29 ||
Once more, the swift-handed night-ranger Nikumbha struck Nīla in battle with a hundred arrows—and laughed aloud.
Nikumbha, the night ranger who was endowed with speed in shooting arrows again shot with a thousand arrows and laughed heartily.
By contrasting violence with mocking laughter, the verse hints at adharma—cruelty and arrogance in victory—implicitly valorizing the Ramayana’s ideal of disciplined, duty-bound combat.
Nikumbha renews his attack on Nīla with another heavy volley and displays contempt by laughing.
Negatively, Nikumbha’s arrogance; by implication, the virtue expected in dharmic war is restraint and respect for the gravity of life-and-death combat.