Mahabharata — Bhishma Parva, Shloka 19

Droṇa–Dhṛṣṭadyumna-yuddha (द्रोण-धृष्टद्युम्न-युद्धम्) — Tactical duel and allied interventions

Devanagari script

तावुभौ नरशार्दूलौ कुरुमुख्यौ महाबलौ

Transliteration

tāv ubhau naraśārdūlau kurumukhyau mahābalau

Translation

Sinabi ni Sañjaya: Ang dalawang iyon—tila mga tigre sa hanay ng tao, pinakapanguna sa mga Kuru, at may dakilang lakas—ay tumindig na kapansin-pansin bilang mga bantog na mandirigma; ang kanilang tindig at kapangyarihan ay nagbabadya ng bigat ng digmaang malapit nang sumiklab.

Word by Word

• तौ: those two
• तौ: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Dual

• उभौ: both
• उभौ: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: उभ
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Dual

• नरशार्दूलौ: tigers among men (great heroes)
• नरशार्दूलौ: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: नरशार्दूल
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Dual

• कुरुमुख्यौ: chiefs among the Kurus
• कुरुमुख्यौ: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: कुरुमुख्य
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Dual

• महाबलौ: of great strength
• महाबलौ: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महाबल
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Dual

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• two Kuru chiefs (unnamed in this half-verse)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

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.

What is happening in the narrative?

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.