आवव्रुस् तस्य पन्थानं गजानीकेन दंशिताः ॥
कलिङ्गाश् च निषादाश् च क्राथपुत्रश् च वीर्यवान् ॥
तत् प्रसक्तम् इवात्यर्थं युद्धम् आसीद् विशां पते ॥
ततस् तत् कुञ्जरानीकं व्यधमद् धृष्टम् आर्जुनिः ॥
यथा विवान् नित्यगतिर् जलदाञ् शतशो ऽम्बरे ॥
ततः क्राथः शरव्रातैर् आर्जुनिं समवाकिरत् ॥
अथेतरे संनिवृत्ताः पुनर् द्रोणमुखा रथाः ॥
परमास्त्राणि धुन्वानाः सौभद्रम् अभिदुद्रुवुः ॥
āvavrus tasya panthānaṃ gajānīkena daṃśitāḥ ||
kaliṅgāś ca niṣādāś ca krāthaputraś ca vīryavān ||
tat prasaktam ivātyarthaṃ yuddham āsīd viśāṃ pate ||
tatas tat kuñjarānīkaṃ vyadhamad dhṛṣṭam ārjuniḥ ||
yathā vivān nityagatir jaladāñ śataśo 'mbare ||
tataḥ krāthaḥ śaravrātair ārjuniṃ samavākirat ||
athetare saṃnivṛttāḥ punar droṇamukhā rathāḥ ||
paramāstrāṇi dhunvānāḥ saubhadram abhidudruvuḥ ||
The Kalingas, the Nishadas, and the valiant son of Kratha, clad in armor, blocked his path with the elephant corps. Then the son of Arjuna elatedly scattered that elephant corps, as the tireless wind scatters clouds by the hundreds in the sky. Then the son of Kratha covered the son of Arjuna with showers of arrows, and the rest of the chariot warriors, led by Drona, returned once more.
bf95d59f693c · published Jul 19, 2026, 3:30:04 PM UTC
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On the way to the barrier ever new obstacles arise — the elephant corps, the Kalingas, the Nishadas, the son of Kratha: the cut-off boy cannot break through to Jayadratha, for barrier multiplies upon barrier. And the returning enemies close ranks around him once more. Thus the hopelessness of his position reveals itself: every breakthrough meets a new barrier. The verse teaches that in a trap, every effort to escape runs into a new hindrance, for the snare is built in layers; that one man, however valiant, wears himself out breaking through barrier after barrier; and that Abhimanyu, scattering elephants "like the wind scatters clouds" yet surrounded again and again, is drawn inexorably toward his end — for the strength of one is not boundless, and the many-layered trap is designed to exhaust and overcome even the unconquerable.