ततो जीमूतसंकाशान् नागाद् इन्द्र इवाभिभूः ॥
अभ्यवर्षच् छरौघेण भगदत्तो धनंजयम् ॥
स चापि शरवर्षं तच् छरवर्षेण वासविः ॥
अप्राप्तम् एव चिच्छेद भगदत्तस्य वीर्यवान् ॥
ततः प्राग्ज्योतिषो राजा शरवर्षं निवार्य तत् ॥
शरैर् जघ्ने महाबाहुं पार्थं कृष्णं च भारत ॥
tato jīmūtasaṃkāśān nāgād indra ivābhibhūḥ ||
abhyavarṣac charaugheṇa bhagadatto dhanaṃjayam ||
sa cāpi śaravarṣaṃ tac charavarṣeṇa vāsaviḥ ||
aprāptam eva ciccheda bhagadattasya vīryavān ||
tataḥ prāgjyotiṣo rājā śaravarṣaṃ nivārya tat ||
śarair jaghne mahābāhuṃ pārthaṃ kṛṣṇaṃ ca bhārata ||
Then, from atop his cloud-like elephant, like Indra himself, the mighty Bhagadatta unleashed a torrent of arrows upon Dhananjaya. And that valiant son of Vasava cut Bhagadatta's downpour of arrows to pieces with his own, still in flight. Then the king of Pragjyotisha, having warded off that downpour of arrows, struck the mighty-armed Partha and Krishna with his arrows, O Bharata.
8b3e97094074 · published Jul 19, 2026, 3:11:21 PM UTC
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The battle is fought on equal terms: Bhagadatta pours arrows from his cloud-elephant, Arjuna cuts them down in flight, and the other in turn wards off and strikes back. Neither gains the upper hand -- two truly equal forces have met. In this balance lies the high beauty of the duel, where every blow meets a worthy answer. It is significant that the aged Bhagadatta does not yield to the foremost of warriors. The verse teaches that a meeting of equals reveals the valor of both sides in full, and neither is put to shame; that a battle in which every blow is matched is the summit of the warrior's art; and that the tradition, unwilling to grant swift victory to its favorite, honestly shows that Arjuna has met an adversary worthy of him, and that glory comes not easily but through the contest of equal with equal.