हैडिम्बो राक्षसेन्द्रस् तु भगदत्तं समाद्रवत् ॥
रथेनादित्यवर्णेन सध्वजेन महाबलः ॥
ततः प्राग्ज्योतिषो राजा नागराजं समास्थितः ॥
यथा वज्रधरः पूर्वं संग्रामे तारकामये ॥
तत्र देवाः सगन्धर्वा ऋषयश् च समागताः ॥
विशेषं न स्म विविदुर् हैडिम्बभगदत्तयोः ॥
यथा सुरपतिः शक्रस् त्रासयाम् आस दानवान् ॥
तथैव समरे राजंस् त्रासयाम् आस पाण्डवान् ॥
तेन विद्राव्यमाणास् ते पाण्डवाः सर्वतोदिशम् ॥
त्रातारं नाभ्यविन्दन्त स्वेष्व् अनीकेषु भारत ॥
भैमसेनिं रथस्थं तु तत्रापश्याम भारत ॥
शेषा विमनसो भूत्वा प्राद्रवन्त महारथाः ॥
निवृत्तेषु तु पाण्डूनां पुनः सैन्येषु भारत ॥
आसीन् निष्टानको घोरस् तव सैन्येषु संयुगे ॥
घटोत्कचस् ततो राजन् भगदत्तं महारणे ॥
शरैः प्रच्छादयाम् आस मेरुं गिरिम् इवाम्बुदः ॥
निहत्य ताञ् शरान् राजा राक्षसस्य धनुश्च्युतान् ॥
भैमसेनिं रणे तूर्णं सर्वमर्मस्व् अताडयत् ॥
स ताड्यमानो बहुभिः शरैः संनतपर्वभिः ॥
न विव्यथे राक्षसेन्द्रो भिद्यमान इवाचलः ॥
तस्य प्राग्ज्योतिषः क्रुद्धस् तोमरान् स चतुर्दश ॥
प्रेषयाम् आस समरे तांश् च चिच्छेद राक्षसः ॥
स तांश् छित्त्वा महाबाहुस् तोमरान् निशितैः शरैः ॥
भगदत्तं च विव्याध सप्तत्या कङ्कपत्रिभिः ॥
ततः प्राग्ज्योतिषो राजन् प्रहसन्न् इव भारत ॥
तस्याश्वांश् चतुरः संख्ये पातयाम् आस सायकैः ॥
स हताश्वे रथे तिष्ठन् राक्षसेन्द्रः प्रतापवान् ॥
शक्तिं चिक्षेप वेगेन प्राग्ज्योतिषगजं प्रति ॥
ताम् आपतन्तीं सहसा हेमदण्डां सुवेगिताम् ॥
त्रिधा चिच्छेद नृपतिः सा व्यकीर्यत मेदिनीम् ॥
शक्तिं विनिहतां दृष्ट्वा हैडिम्बः प्राद्रवद् भयात् ॥
यथेन्द्रस्य रणात् पूर्वं नमुचिर् दैत्यसत्तमः ॥
तं विजित्य रणे शूरं विक्रान्तं ख्यातपौरुषम् ॥
अजेयं समरे राजन् यमेन वरुणेन च ॥
पाण्डवीं समरे सेनां संममर्द सकुञ्जरः ॥
यथा वनगजो राजन् मृद्नंश् चरति पद्मिनीम् ॥
haiḍimbo rākṣasendras tu bhagadattaṃ samādravat ||
rathenādityavarṇena sadhvajena mahābalaḥ ||
tataḥ prāgjyotiṣo rājā nāgarājaṃ samāsthitaḥ ||
yathā vajradharaḥ pūrvaṃ saṃgrāme tārakāmaye ||
tatra devāḥ sagandharvā ṛṣayaś ca samāgatāḥ ||
viśeṣaṃ na sma vividur haiḍimbabhagadattayoḥ ||
yathā surapatiḥ śakras trāsayām āsa dānavān ||
tathaiva samare rājaṃs trāsayām āsa pāṇḍavān ||
tena vidrāvyamāṇās te pāṇḍavāḥ sarvatodiśam ||
trātāraṃ nābhyavindanta sveṣv anīkeṣu bhārata ||
bhaimaseniṃ rathasthaṃ tu tatrāpaśyāma bhārata ||
śeṣā vimanaso bhūtvā prādravanta mahārathāḥ ||
nivṛtteṣu tu pāṇḍūnāṃ punaḥ sainyeṣu bhārata ||
āsīn niṣṭānako ghoras tava sainyeṣu saṃyuge ||
ghaṭotkacas tato rājan bhagadattaṃ mahāraṇe ||
śaraiḥ pracchādayām āsa meruṃ girim ivāmbudaḥ ||
nihatya tāñ śarān rājā rākṣasasya dhanuścyutān ||
bhaimaseniṃ raṇe tūrṇaṃ sarvamarmasv atāḍayat ||
sa tāḍyamāno bahubhiḥ śaraiḥ saṃnataparvabhiḥ ||
na vivyathe rākṣasendro bhidyamāna ivācalaḥ ||
tasya prāgjyotiṣaḥ kruddhas tomarān sa caturdaśa ||
preṣayām āsa samare tāṃś ca ciccheda rākṣasaḥ ||
sa tāṃś chittvā mahābāhus tomarān niśitaiḥ śaraiḥ ||
bhagadattaṃ ca vivyādha saptatyā kaṅkapatribhiḥ ||
tataḥ prāgjyotiṣo rājan prahasann iva bhārata ||
tasyāśvāṃś caturaḥ saṃkhye pātayām āsa sāyakaiḥ ||
sa hatāśve rathe tiṣṭhan rākṣasendraḥ pratāpavān ||
śaktiṃ cikṣepa vegena prāgjyotiṣagajaṃ prati ||
tām āpatantīṃ sahasā hemadaṇḍāṃ suvegitām ||
tridhā ciccheda nṛpatiḥ sā vyakīryata medinīm ||
śaktiṃ vinihatāṃ dṛṣṭvā haiḍimbaḥ prādravad bhayāt ||
yathendrasya raṇāt pūrvaṃ namucir daityasattamaḥ ||
taṃ vijitya raṇe śūraṃ vikrāntaṃ khyātapauruṣam ||
ajeyaṃ samare rājan yamena varuṇena ca ||
pāṇḍavīṃ samare senāṃ saṃmamarda sakuñjaraḥ ||
yathā vanagajo rājan mṛdnaṃś carati padminīm ||
The mighty Haidimba, lord of the rakshasas, on a chariot the color of the sun, with its banner, rushed at Bhagadatta. Then the king of Pragjyotisha, mounted upon his royal elephant, was like the wielder of the vajra of old in the battle with Taraka. There the assembled gods, gandharvas, and rishis could discern no superiority between Haidimba and Bhagadatta. As Shakra, lord of the gods, once terrified the danavas, so Bhagadatta in this battle, O king, terrified the Pandavas. Hard-pressed by him, the Pandavas found no protector in their own ranks in any direction, O Bharata. There we saw only the son of Bhimasena standing upon his chariot; the rest of the maharathas, downcast, fled. But when the forces of the Pandavas turned back once more, O Bharata, a dreadful uproar arose in your army in the fight. Then Ghatotkacha, in the great battle, covered Bhagadatta with arrows as a cloud covers Mount Meru. But the king destroyed those arrows loosed from the rakshasa's bow, and swiftly struck the son of Bhimasena in every vital spot. Battered by many well-fashioned arrows, the king of the rakshasas did not waver, like a mountain being split. Enraged against the king of Pragjyotisha, he sent fourteen tomaras at him in the battle, and the rakshasa cut them down himself. Having cut down those tomaras with sharp arrows, the mighty-armed one then pierced Bhagadatta with seventy kanka-feathered shafts. Then the king of Pragjyotisha, as though smiling, O Bharata, felled his four horses with arrows in the fight. The valiant king of the rakshasas, standing on his horseless chariot, hurled his shakti with great force at the elephant of Pragjyotisha. The king cut this swift, gold-shafted weapon, hurtling toward him, into three pieces as it flew, and it scattered upon the ground. Seeing his shakti destroyed, Haidimba fled in fear, as once Namuchi, the greatest of the daityas, fled from battle with Indra. Having conquered in battle this hero, valiant, renowned for his prowess, unconquerable even by Yama and Varuna, Bhagadatta, mounted on his elephant, began to crush the Pandava army, as a wild elephant wanders trampling through a bed of lotuses.
bc418fb1d65e · published Jul 17, 2026, 9:38:21 PM UTC
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Bhagadatta appears here as an almost mythic force: elephant, royal power, and the comparison to Indra merge into a single image. Even Ghatotkacha, himself born of rakshasa strength, is forced to retreat; so the text shows that on the field of war no superiority holds for long.