Shloka 12
देवसत्रे मृत्युनिरोधः, पूर्वेन्द्राणां मानुषावतरणम्, द्रौपदी-वरकथनम्
Suspension of Death at the Devasatra; Former Indras’ Human Descent; Draupadī’s Boon Etiology
तावुभावप्यनिर्देश्यौ लाघवाज्जयतां वरौ । अयुध्येतां सुसंरब्धावन्योन्यविजिगीषिणौ
vaiśampāyana uvāca |
tāv ubhāv apy anirdeśyau lāghavāj jayatāṃ varau |
ayudhyetāṃ susaṃrabdhāv anyonya-vijigīṣiṇau ||
毗舍波耶那说道：那两位胜者中的翘楚，凭其迅捷灵巧，竟难分高下。二人怒火炽盛，各怀必胜之志，继续鏖战不休。
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how sheer martial agility and the thirst for victory can make opponents appear evenly matched, while anger (saṃrambha) drives conflict forward—an implicit caution that prowess without restraint tends to intensify rivalry rather than resolve it.
Vaiśampāyana describes two eminent warriors engaged in combat. Their speed and dexterity are so equal that no one can say who is superior; both, burning with rage, fight with the single aim of defeating the other.