Shloka 7
दमयन्त्याः व्याकुलता — स्वयंवरसंनिपातः — देवदूतयाचनम्
Damayantī’s Distress, Proclamation of the Svayaṃvara, and the Gods’ Request
भीमार्जुनौ पुरोधाय यदा तौ रणमूर्थनि । स्थास्येते सिंहविक्रान्तावश्विनाविव दुःसहौ,“जिस समय भीमसेन और अर्जुनको आगे रखकर वे दोनों सिंहके समान पराक्रमी और अश्विनीकुमारोंके समान दुःसह वीर युद्धके मुहानेपर खड़े होंगे, उस समय मुझे अपनी सेनाका कोई वीर शेष रहता नहीं दिखायी देता है। संजय! देवपुत्र महारथी नकुल-सहदेव युद्धमें अनुपम हैं। कोई भी रथी उनका सामना नहीं कर सकता
bhīmārjunau purodhāya yadā tau raṇamūrdhani | sthāsyete siṁhavikrāntāv aśvināv iva duḥsahau ||
Vaiśampāyana said: “When those two—placing Bhīma and Arjuna at the fore—stand at the very head of battle, lion-like in their stride and as unendurable as the Aśvin twins, then I see no warrior of my host left remaining. O Sañjaya, the divine-born great chariot-fighters Nakula and Sahadeva are peerless in war; no charioteer can withstand them.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage underscores the classical kṣatriya ideal: decisive leadership in battle and the recognition of extraordinary martial excellence. Ethically, it also conveys the sobering awareness that when the foremost champions take the field, ordinary strength and numbers may prove futile—highlighting the limits of pride and the inevitability of consequences once conflict is fully joined.
Vaiśampāyana reports a prediction/assessment of battlefield dynamics: if the two warriors (contextually the twin brothers Nakula and Sahadeva) advance with Bhīma and Arjuna placed at the front, they will be irresistible—likened to lions and the Aśvin twins—so that the opposing army’s fighters would be unable to remain standing against them.