काष्ठातीत इवादित्यः प्रतपन् युगसंक्षये ॥
ददृशे दिक्षु सर्वासु पार्थः परपुरंजयः ॥
खुरशब्देन चाश्वानां नेमिघोषेण तेन च ॥
तेन चोत्क्रुष्टशब्देन ज्यानिनादेन तेन च ॥
देवदत्तस्य घोषेण गाण्डीवनिनदेन च ॥
मन्दवेगतरा नागा बभूवुस् ते विचेतसः ॥
शरैर् आशीविषस्पर्शैर् निर्भिन्नाः सव्यसाचिना ॥
kāṣṭhātīta ivādityaḥ pratapan yugasaṃkṣaye ||
dadṛśe dikṣu sarvāsu pārthaḥ parapuraṃjayaḥ ||
khuraśabdena cāśvānāṃ nemighoṣeṇa tena ca ||
tena cotkruṣṭaśabdena jyāninādena tena ca ||
devadattasya ghoṣeṇa gāṇḍīvaninadena ca ||
mandavegatarā nāgā babhūvus te vicetasaḥ ||
śarair āśīviṣasparśair nirbhinnāḥ savyasācinā ||
Like the sun that has passed its bounds, blazing at the end of the age, Partha, conqueror of enemy cities, was seen in every direction. And by the clatter of horses' hooves, and by that rumble of wheel-rims, and by that battle cry, and by that twang of the bowstring, the elephants, grown sluggish, became bewildered, pierced by Savyasachin with arrows whose touch was like venomous serpents.
17be6f36bf1f · published Jul 19, 2026, 3:45:02 PM UTC
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Again Arjuna is the sun, but now a dreadful one, «yugaṃsaṃkṣaye», blazing at the end of the age: light turned into the fire of judgment. His arrows have «āśīviṣasparśaiḥ», the touch of venomous serpents. It is telling that the very din of his onslaught — hooves, wheel-rims, bowstring — robs the elephants of will: «vicetasaḥ», bewildered. The verse teaches that the presence of the executor of retribution alone unravels the might of the unrighteous: not arrows alone, but the dreadful visage and the roar of movement strip the enemy of spirit; and where righteous wrath arises like the fire of dissolution, the strength of lawlessness grows numb even before the wound is struck.