Shloka 13
अध्याय २७०: प्रहस्त-वधः, धूम्राक्ष-हननं, कुम्भकर्ण-प्रबोधनम्
Chapter 270: Slaying of Prahasta; Defeat of Dhūmrākṣa; Awakening of Kumbhakarṇa
को हीदृशानामरिमर्दनानां क्लेशक्षमानामपराजितानाम्
ko hīdṛśānām arimardanānāṁ kleśakṣamāṇām aparājitānām
Vaiśampāyana said: “Who could (withstand) such men—crushers of enemies, patient under hardship, and unconquered?”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse praises the dharmic heroic ideal: true strength is not only victory over enemies but also endurance of hardship and steadfastness that makes one effectively “unconquered.”
Vaiśampāyana offers an admiring rhetorical question, emphasizing that the men being described are formidable—enemy-subduing, hardship-enduring, and not easily defeated—thereby heightening the narrative’s sense of their exceptional prowess.