Shloka 29
Vāg-yuddha and Nimitta-darśana before the Gadāyuddha
Verbal Duel and Omens
तथा सदृशकर्माणौ वरुणस्य महाबलौ । वासुदेवस्य रामस्य तथा वैश्रवणस्य च
tathā sadṛśakarmāṇau varuṇasya mahābalau | vāsudevasya rāmasya tathā vaiśravaṇasya ca, mahārāja! śatrūṇāṃ santāpa-denau te ubhau mahābalī vīrau yamarāja-indra-varuṇa-śrīkṛṣṇa-balarāma-kubera-madhu-kaiṭabha-sunda-upasunda-rāma-rāvaṇa-bāli-sugrīvavat parākramaṃ darśayantaḥ kāla-mṛtyu-samāv iva babhūvatuḥ ||
Wika ni Sañjaya: O hari, ang dalawang bayani na may dakilang lakas ay magkatulad sa gawa, gaya ni Varuṇa; at gaya rin nina Vāsudeva (Kṛṣṇa), Rāma (Balarāma), at Vaiśravaṇa (Kubera). Sinusunog nila ang mga kaaway sa tindi ng kanilang lakas. Ipinamalas nila ang kapangyarihang tulad nina Yama, Indra, Varuṇa, Kṛṣṇa, Balarāma, Kubera, at tulad ng mga tanyag na magkatunggali—Madhu at Kaiṭabha, Sunda at Upasunda, Rāma at Rāvaṇa, Bāli at Sugrīva—na wari’y sila ang Panahon at Kamatayan mismo.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the overwhelming, almost cosmic scale of martial power in the war: human warriors can appear as instruments of inevitability—like Time and Death—reminding the listener that violence in battle quickly becomes impersonal and fated, and that pride in strength is fragile before larger forces.
Sanjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that two mighty warriors on the battlefield are devastating their foes. To convey their intensity, he strings together comparisons to major gods and legendary pairs of opponents, culminating in the image that they seem like Kāla and Mṛtyu moving among men.