पौरवो धृष्टकेतुं च शरैर् आसाद्य संयुगे ॥
बहुधा दारयां चक्रे महेष्वासं महारथम् ॥
तथैव पौरवं युद्धे धृष्टकेतुर् महारथः ॥
त्रिंशता निशितैर् बाणैर् विव्याध सुमहाबलः ॥
पौरवस् तु धनुश् छित्त्वा धृष्टकेतोर् महारथः ॥
ननाद बलवन् नादं विव्याध दशभिः शरैः ॥
सो ऽन्यत् कार्मुकम् आदाय पौरवं निशितैः शरैः ॥
आजघान महाराज त्रिसप्तत्या शिलीमुखैः ॥
तौ तु तत्र महेष्वासौ महामात्रौ महारथौ ॥
महता शरवर्षेण परस्परम् अवर्षताम् ॥
अन्योन्यस्य धनुश् छित्त्वा हयान् हत्वा च भारत ॥
विरथाव् असियुद्धाय संगतौ तौ महारथौ ॥
आर्षभे चर्मणी चित्रे शतचन्द्रपरिष्कृते ॥
तारकाशतचित्रौ च निस्त्रिंशौ सुमहाप्रभौ ॥
प्रगृह्य विमलौ राजंस् ताव् अन्योन्यम् अभिद्रुतौ ॥
वाशितासंगमे यत्तौ सिंहाव् इव महावने ॥
मण्डलानि विचित्राणि गतप्रत्यागतानि च ॥
चेरतुर् दर्शयन्तौ च प्रार्थयन्तौ परस्परम् ॥
पौरवो धृष्टकेतुं तु शङ्खदेशे महासिना ॥
ताडयाम् आस संक्रुद्धस् तिष्ठ तिष्ठेति चाब्रवीत् ॥
चेदिराजो ऽपि समरे पौरवं पुरुषर्षभम् ॥
आजघान शिताग्रेण जत्रुदेशे महासिना ॥
ताव् अन्योन्यं महाराज समासाद्य महाहवे ॥
अन्योन्यवेगाभिहतौ निपेततुर् अरिंदमौ ॥
ततः स्वरथम् आरोप्य पौरवं तनयस् तव ॥
जयत्सेनो रथे राजन्न् अपोवाह रणाजिरात् ॥
धृष्टकेतुं च समरे माद्रीपुत्रः परंतपः ॥
अपोवाह रणे राजन् सहदेवः प्रतापवान् ॥
pauravo dhṛṣṭaketuṃ ca śarair āsādya saṃyuge ||
bahudhā dārayāṃ cakre maheṣvāsaṃ mahāratham ||
tathaiva pauravaṃ yuddhe dhṛṣṭaketur mahārathaḥ ||
triṃśatā niśitair bāṇair vivyādha sumahābalaḥ ||
pauravas tu dhanuś chittvā dhṛṣṭaketor mahārathaḥ ||
nanāda balavan nādaṃ vivyādha daśabhiḥ śaraiḥ ||
so 'nyat kārmukam ādāya pauravaṃ niśitaiḥ śaraiḥ ||
ājaghāna mahārāja trisaptatyā śilīmukhaiḥ ||
tau tu tatra maheṣvāsau mahāmātrau mahārathau ||
mahatā śaravarṣeṇa parasparam avarṣatām ||
anyonyasya dhanuś chittvā hayān hatvā ca bhārata ||
virathāv asiyuddhāya saṃgatau tau mahārathau ||
ārṣabhe carmaṇī citre śatacandrapariṣkṛte ||
tārakāśatacitrau ca nistriṃśau sumahāprabhau ||
pragṛhya vimalau rājaṃs tāv anyonyam abhidrutau ||
vāśitāsaṃgame yattau siṃhāv iva mahāvane ||
maṇḍalāni vicitrāṇi gatapratyāgatāni ca ||
ceratur darśayantau ca prārthayantau parasparam ||
pauravo dhṛṣṭaketuṃ tu śaṅkhadeśe mahāsinā ||
tāḍayām āsa saṃkruddhas tiṣṭha tiṣṭheti cābravīt ||
cedirājo 'pi samare pauravaṃ puruṣarṣabham ||
ājaghāna śitāgreṇa jatrudeśe mahāsinā ||
tāv anyonyaṃ mahārāja samāsādya mahāhave ||
anyonyavegābhihatau nipetatur ariṃdamau ||
tataḥ svaratham āropya pauravaṃ tanayas tava ||
jayatseno rathe rājann apovāha raṇājirāt ||
dhṛṣṭaketuṃ ca samare mādrīputraḥ paraṃtapaḥ ||
apovāha raṇe rājan sahadevaḥ pratāpavān ||
"Paurava, overtaking Dhrishtaketu with arrows in battle, pierced this great bowman, this mighty charioteer, again and again. In return the very mighty Dhrishtaketu, himself a great charioteer, wounded Paurava in battle with thirty sharp arrows. Paurava split Dhrishtaketu's bow, roared mightily, and pierced him with ten arrows. Then Dhrishtaketu took another bow and, O great king, struck Paurava with seventy-three sharp arrows. These two great bowmen, eminent car-warriors, poured a great rain of arrows upon each other there. Having cut each other's bows and slain each other's horses, O Bharata, the two mighty charioteers, deprived of their chariots, met for a duel with swords. They took up dappled bull-hide shields, adorned with a hundred round bosses, and gleaming swords marked with a hundred star-signs. Grasping their flawless blades, O king, they charged at one another like two lions straining in a great forest at the meeting for a mate. They moved through various circling movements, advances and retreats, displaying their skill and seeking to strike one another. Enraged, Paurava struck Dhrishtaketu with his great sword in the collarbone and cried, "Stand! Stand!" But the king of Chedi, in that same battle, struck Paurava, the bull among men, with his honed great sword in the very same place. Having clashed with one another in the great battle, both tamers of foes, felled by the mutual onslaught, fell down. Then your son Jayatsena lifted Paurava onto his own chariot and carried him off the field of battle, O king; and the valorous Sahadeva, son of Madri and scorcher of foes, carried Dhrishtaketu off from the fight."
94a7d6d0f68d · published Jul 17, 2026, 10:03:50 PM UTC
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Here the battle narrows for a moment into an ancient warrior's duel: bows broken, horses slain, only swords, shields, and personal courage remain. Yet even such valor ends in the fall of both, and each is borne away by another.