Bhagavad Gita 1.6
युधामन्युश्च विक्रान्त उत्तमौजाश्च वीर्यवान् । सौभद्रो द्रौपदेयाश्च सर्व एव महारथाः ॥
yudhāmanyuś ca vikrānta uttamaujāś ca vīryavān | saubhadro draupadeyāś ca sarva eva mahā-rathāḥ ||
Translation
And the valiant Yudhamanyu, and the heroic Uttamaujas; the son of Subhadra, and the sons of Draupadi, all great chariot-warriors.
Reflection
Where has saying it twice taken the place of meaning it once?
Read this verse in its chapter: Chapter One
The list reaches the sons. Abhimanyu, the son of Subhadra. The five sons of Draupadi. Boys, mostly. Duryodhana names them in the same breath as the seasoned chiefs because to a mind already overcounting, every helmet on the other side is a mahā-ratha. The word, used eight times in five verses, loses its meaning by sheer repetition. That is the work of a roster recited under pressure: precision gives way to mass.