Shloka 406
अध्याय ९ — कर्णस्य प्रहारः, योधयुग्मनियोजनम्, शैनेय-कैकेययोर्युद्धविन्यासः
न्यायेन युध्यमानौ हि तद् वै सत्यं ब्रवीमि ते । मैंने यह समाचार भी सुना था कि भीष्म और द्रोणाचार्य मार गिराये गये
nyāyena yudhyamānau hi tad vai satyaṃ bravīmi te |
Ибо если бы те двое — Бхишма и Дрона — сражались по справедливости, соблюдая должные правила битвы, то — говорю тебе это как чистую правду — никто не смог бы одолеть их. Даже сам Индра, владыка, держащий ваджру, не сумел бы убить Бхишму и Дрону, будь они в праведном бою.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores that adherence to nyāya (just, rule-bound conduct) in war confers moral and even practical invincibility; Bhīṣma and Droṇa could be brought down only when the fight departed from strict dharma-yuddha norms.
Vaiśampāyana emphasizes to his listener that although news has been heard of Bhīṣma and Droṇa being slain, in truth they were so formidable that if they had been fighting strictly according to the rules of righteous battle, not even Indra could have killed them.