Shloka 19
Droṇa–Dhṛṣṭadyumna-yuddha (द्रोण-धृष्टद्युम्न-युद्धम्) — Tactical duel and allied interventions
तावुभौ नरशार्दूलौ कुरुमुख्यौ महाबलौ
tāv ubhau naraśārdūlau kurumukhyau mahābalau
संजय बोले—वे दोनों नरशार्दूल, कुरुओं में श्रेष्ठ और महाबली थे; रणभूमि में उनकी देह-दीप्ति और पराक्रम से आगामी संग्राम की गंभीरता प्रकट हो रही थी।
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the Mahābhārata’s ethical tension: extraordinary personal power and noble lineage (being ‘foremost Kurus’) do not by themselves resolve dharma; they intensify responsibility, because such figures shape the fate of many in war.
Sañjaya is describing two prominent Kuru warriors, praising them with conventional heroic epithets (‘tiger-like among men’, ‘very powerful’) as part of the battlefield narration in Bhīṣma Parva.