एवम् उक्त्वा नदन् राजन् पुत्रो दुःशासनस् तव ॥
सौभद्रम् अभ्ययात् क्रुद्धः शरवर्षैर् अवाकिरन् ॥
तम् अभिक्रुद्धम् आयान्तं तव पुत्रम् अरिंदमः ॥
अभिमन्युः शरैस् तीक्ष्णैः षड्विंशत्या समर्पयत् ॥
दुःशासनस् तु संक्रुद्धः प्रभिन्न इव कुञ्जरः ॥
अयोधयत सौभद्रम् अभिमन्युश् च तं रणे ॥
evam uktvā nadan rājan putro duḥśāsanas tava ||
saubhadram abhyayāt kruddhaḥ śaravarṣair avākiran ||
tam abhikruddham āyāntaṃ tava putram ariṃdamaḥ ||
abhimanyuḥ śarais tīkṣṇaiḥ ṣaḍviṃśatyā samarpayat ||
duḥśāsanas tu saṃkruddhaḥ prabhinna iva kuñjaraḥ ||
ayodhayata saubhadram abhimanyuś ca taṃ raṇe ||
Having spoken so, O king, your son Duhshasana, roaring, charged in wrath at Abhimanyu, covering him with showers of arrows. Him, furious and advancing, your son, the tamer of foes Abhimanyu struck with twenty-six sharp arrows. Duhshasana, furious as an elephant in must, battled with the son of Subhadra, and Abhimanyu with him in the fight.
23cc643ffee1 · published Jul 19, 2026, 3:22:09 PM UTC
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Duhshasana, who boasted he would easily slay the boy, no sooner meets him than he takes twenty-six arrows and fights not as a victor but like 'an elephant in must' — blindly furious, but not triumphant. Thus boasting shatters against deed: the tongue promised more than the hand could deliver. It is telling that the boy meets his formidable foe calmly and precisely, answering the shower with a strike of his own. The verse teaches that bravado falls silent in action, and one who promised an easy victory often finds himself hard-pressed instead; that fury without superiority is mere blind rage, not strength; and that between boasting and accomplishment lies an abyss in which everyone who boasted before he acted is swallowed up — for the hand answers not for words but for deeds.