पौत्रं तु तव दुर्धर्षं लक्ष्मणं प्रियदर्शनम् ॥
पितुः समीपे तिष्ठन्तं शूरम् उद्यतकार्मुकम् ॥
अत्यन्तसुखसंवृद्धं धनेश्वरसुतोपमम् ॥
आससाद रणे कार्ष्णिर् मत्तो मत्तम् इव द्विपम् ॥
लक्ष्मणेन तु संगम्य सौभद्रः परवीरहा ॥
शरैः सुनिशितैस् तीक्ष्णैर् बाह्वोर् उरसि चार्पितः ॥
pautraṃ tu tava durdharṣaṃ lakṣmaṇaṃ priyadarśanam ||
pituḥ samīpe tiṣṭhantaṃ śūram udyatakārmukam ||
atyantasukhasaṃvṛddhaṃ dhaneśvarasutopamam ||
āsasāda raṇe kārṣṇir matto mattam iva dvipam ||
lakṣmaṇena tu saṃgamya saubhadraḥ paravīrahā ||
śaraiḥ suniśitais tīkṣṇair bāhvor urasi cārpitaḥ ||
Your grandson, unassailable Lakshmana, comely, standing near his father, the champion with bow raised, raised in utmost comfort, like the son of Kubera, was found in battle by the son of Krishna [Subhadra], as one elephant in must finds another in must. But having engaged with Lakshmana, the son of Subhadra, slayer of enemy heroes, was wounded by keenly whetted, sharp arrows in both arms and in the chest.
0a614651dfa7 · published Jul 19, 2026, 3:30:04 PM UTC
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Two young elephants in must meet — Abhimanyu and Lakshmana, both "raised in comfort," both comely and fearless: mirror images of each other on opposite sides of the enmity. It is telling that Lakshmana wounds Abhimanyu — he too is no weakling but a worthy opponent. The verse teaches that war brings the alike face to face — young, fair, valiant, divided only by camp; that in this meeting of equals there is neither righteous nor guilty in terms of valor, but only two children drawn into a quarrel not their own; and that the tradition, by showing their mirrored likeness, sharpens the tragedy — for the death of one boy at the other's hand is the death of youth itself, beautiful on both sides, sacrificed to the enmity of the fathers.