स पौरवरथस्येषाम् आप्लुत्य सहसा नदन् ॥
पौरवं रथम् आस्थाय केशपक्षे परामृशत् ॥
जघानास्य पदा सूतम् असिनापातयद् ध्वजम् ॥
विक्षोभ्याम्भोनिधिं तार्क्ष्यस् तं नागम् इव चाक्षिपत् ॥
तम् आकलितकेशान्तं ददृशुः सर्वपार्थिवाः ॥
उक्षाणम् इव सिंहेन पात्यमानम् अचेतनम् ॥
तम् आर्जुनिवशं प्राप्तं कृष्यमाणम् अनाथवत् ॥
पौरवं पतितं दृष्ट्वा नामृष्यत जयद्रथः ॥
sa pauravarathasyeṣām āplutya sahasā nadan ||
pauravaṃ ratham āsthāya keśapakṣe parāmṛśat ||
jaghānāsya padā sūtam asināpātayad dhvajam ||
vikṣobhyāmbhonidhiṃ tārkṣyas taṃ nāgam iva cākṣipat ||
tam ākalitakeśāntaṃ dadṛśuḥ sarvapārthivāḥ ||
ukṣāṇam iva siṃhena pātyamānam acetanam ||
tam ārjunivaśaṃ prāptaṃ kṛṣyamāṇam anāthavat ||
pauravaṃ patitaṃ dṛṣṭvā nāmṛṣyata jayadrathaḥ ||
He [Abhimanyu], having sprung in an instant onto the pole of Paurava's chariot, shouting, mounted Paurava's chariot and seized him by the hair; striking down his charioteer with his foot, he felled the banner with his sword, and flung him [Paurava] away, as Tarkshya [Garuda], having roiled the ocean, seizes and flings away a serpent. All the kings beheld him [Paurava], his hair disheveled, being brought down senseless, as a bull by a lion. Having seen Paurava struck down, dragged along like one helpless, already brought under Abhimanyu's dominion, Jayadratha could not bear it.
90b5e605a2c6 · published Jul 19, 2026, 3:00:03 PM UTC
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The image of Garuda snatching a serpent from the roiled ocean shows the daring might of young Abhimanyu: he seizes his enemy with bare hands, as the king of birds seizes a serpent. But the narrative at once introduces Jayadratha, 'unable to bear' the disgrace of his kinsman — and here the fatal thread is tied: Jayadratha's anger will lead to the very encirclement in which Abhimanyu himself will fall. The verse teaches that the brilliance of triumph often awakens envy and malice, preparing trouble for the one who triumphs; that a single feat draws after it a chain of consequences; and that the narrative, showing the peak of the youth's glory, at once sets the knot of his doom — for the very radiance of his valor kindles the enmity that will destroy him.