तस्य सर्वायसीं शक्तिं शल्यः कनकभूषणाम् ॥
चिक्षेप समरे घोरां दीप्ताम् अग्निशिखाम् इव ॥
ताम् अवप्लुत्य जग्राह सकोशं चाकरोद् असिम् ॥
वैनतेयो यथा कार्ष्णिः पतन्तम् उरगोत्तमम् ॥
तस्य लाघवम् आज्ञाय सत्त्वं चामिततेजसः ॥
सहिताः सर्वराजानः सिंहनादम् अथानदन् ॥
ततस् ताम् एव शल्यस्य सौभद्रः परवीरहा ॥
मुमोच भुजवीर्येण वैडूर्यविकृताजिराम् ॥
सा तस्य रथम् आसाद्य निर्मुक्तभुजगोपमा ॥
जघान सूतं शल्यस्य रथाच् चैनम् अपातयत् ॥
tasya sarvāyasīṃ śaktiṃ śalyaḥ kanakabhūṣaṇām ||
cikṣepa samare ghorāṃ dīptām agniśikhām iva ||
tām avaplutya jagrāha sakośaṃ cākarod asim ||
vainateyo yathā kārṣṇiḥ patantam uragottamam ||
tasya lāghavam ājñāya sattvaṃ cāmitatejasaḥ ||
sahitāḥ sarvarājānaḥ siṃhanādam athānadan ||
tatas tām eva śalyasya saubhadraḥ paravīrahā ||
mumoca bhujavīryeṇa vaiḍūryavikṛtājirām ||
sā tasya ratham āsādya nirmuktabhujagopamā ||
jaghāna sūtaṃ śalyasya rathāc cainam apātayat ||
At him Shalya hurled in battle an all-iron, gold-adorned, terrible spear, blazing like a tongue of fire. Leaping up, Abhimanyu caught it and drew his sword from its sheath -- just as Vainateya, Garuda, seizes a swooping serpent-king, so did Karshni seize that spear. Seeing the agility and the strength of spirit of that hero of boundless brilliance, all the kings together let out a lion's roar. Then Saubhadra, slayer of enemy heroes, hurled that very spear of Shalya back with the might of his arm -- the spear adorned with beryl. Reaching Shalya's chariot, like a serpent that has shed its skin, it struck down Shalya's charioteer and cast him from the chariot.
662b4c2bbca1 · published Jul 19, 2026, 3:00:03 PM UTC
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Abhimanyu catches Shalya's blazing spear in mid-flight, and the very enemies, forgetting their hostility, raise a lion's roar of admiration -- valor so great that it disarms even the hatred of one's foes. The image of Garuda seizing the serpent, and of the spear turned back upon its sender, shows not only strength but the return of evil upon the one who launched it. The verse teaches that true valor wins praise even from enemies, for greatness is honored by all; that a weapon of wrong sent against the righteous can turn back on the very attacker; and that young Abhimanyu, at the height of glory, displays that pure valor before which enmity falls silent -- making all the more bitter the story yet to come, of his lonely death among these same admiring foes.