ततः संहर्षयन् सेनां सिंहवद् विनदन् मुहुः ॥
समादत्तार्जुनिस् तूर्णं पौरवान्तकरं शरम् ॥
द्वाभ्यां शराभ्यां हार्दिक्यश् चकर्त सशरं धनुः ॥
तद् उत्सृज्य धनुश् छिन्नं सौभद्रः परवीरहा ॥
उद्बबर्ह सितं खड्गम् आददानः शरावरम् ॥
स तेनानेकतारेण चर्मणा कृतहस्तवत् ॥
भ्रान्तासिर् अचरन् मार्गान् दर्शयन् वीर्यम् आत्मनः ॥
भ्रामितं पुनर् उद्भ्रान्तम् आधूतं पुनर् उच्छ्रितम् ॥
चर्मनिस्त्रिंशयो राजन् निर्विशेषम् अदृश्यत ॥
tataḥ saṃharṣayan senāṃ siṃhavad vinadan muhuḥ ||
samādattārjunis tūrṇaṃ pauravāntakaraṃ śaram ||
dvābhyāṃ śarābhyāṃ hārdikyaś cakarta saśaraṃ dhanuḥ ||
tad utsṛjya dhanuś chinnaṃ saubhadraḥ paravīrahā ||
udbabarha sitaṃ khaḍgam ādadānaḥ śarāvaram ||
sa tenānekatāreṇa carmaṇā kṛtahastavat ||
bhrāntāsir acaran mārgān darśayan vīryam ātmanaḥ ||
bhrāmitaṃ punar udbhrāntam ādhūtaṃ punar ucchritam ||
carmanistriṃśayo rājan nirviśeṣam adṛśyata ||
Then, gladdening his host, roaring like a lion again and again, the son of Arjuna [Abhimanyu] swiftly took up an arrow bringing death to Paurava. With two arrows Hardikya [Kritavarman] cut through his bow together with its nocked arrow. Casting aside that severed bow, Saubhadra [Abhimanyu], slayer of enemy heroes, with that shield studded with many [golden] stars, as one skilled of hand, ranged about all [battle] paths with his whirling sword, displaying his own prowess. Now whirled, now tossed up, now shaken, now raised — the [blade and] shield, O king, appeared to the eye as a single blur.
286cba94d05d · published Jul 19, 2026, 3:00:03 PM UTC
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Deprived of his bow, Abhimanyu did not falter but showed with sword and shield an art in which weapon and hand merged into indistinguishable oneness: true mastery does not depend on any single instrument. Thus a hero constrained by circumstance reveals not confusion but a new fullness of valor. It is significant that even the enemy's blow — the severed bow — only gave him occasion to show something greater. The verse teaches that true skill is not bound to a single means and shines brighter under constraint; that the loss of a weapon, for the skilled, is not defeat but an occasion for new valor; and that greatness of spirit is known not in ease but in how a person answers sudden loss.