गदया मद्रराजेन सव्यदक्षिणम् आहतः ॥
नाकम्पत तदा भीमो भिद्यमान इवाचलः ॥
तथा भीमगदावेगैस् ताड्यमानो महाबलः ॥
धैर्यान् मद्राधिपस् तस्थौ वज्रैर् गिरिर् इवाहतः ॥
आपेततुर् महावेगौ समुच्छ्रितमहागदौ ॥
पुनर् अन्तरमार्गस्थौ मण्डलानि विचेरतुः ॥
gadayā madrarājena savyadakṣiṇam āhataḥ ||
nākampata tadā bhīmo bhidyamāna ivācalaḥ ||
tathā bhīmagadāvegais tāḍyamāno mahābalaḥ ||
dhairyān madrādhipas tasthau vajrair girir ivāhataḥ ||
āpetatur mahāvegau samucchritamahāgadau ||
punar antaramārgasthau maṇḍalāni viceratuḥ ||
Struck by the mace of the king of Madra [Shalya] both left and right, Bhima did not waver then, like a crag being cleft. Likewise, battered under the mighty blows of Bhima's mace, the mighty king of Madra [Shalya] stood firm by his own endurance, like a mountain struck by thunderbolts. Both, with great force, with maces raised high, charged at each other and, once more taking the intermediate track, wove their circles.
1390f6c70883 · published Jul 19, 2026, 3:00:04 PM UTC
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Both heroes "stand like a mountain under thunderbolts": the highest valor shows itself not in dealing the blow but in the capacity to receive it without flinching. Thus endurance is equal to strength: he who can bear a blow is no weaker than he who can deal one. It is telling that Shalya holds his ground "by endurance" (dhairya) — firmness of spirit, not bodily strength alone, keeps him standing. The verse teaches that patient steadfastness is a valor no less than striking might; that a mountain unmoved by thunder is an image of a spirit unshaken under the blows of fate; and that in a great confrontation both the one who strikes and the one who withstands are equally honored, for both manifest unshakability.