ततो ऽर्जुनः स्मयन्न् एव श्रुतायुधम् अरिंदमः ॥
शरैर् अनेकसाहस्रैः पीडयाम् आस भारत ॥
अश्वांश् चास्यावधीत् तूर्णं सारथिं च महारथः ॥
विव्याध चैनं सप्तत्या नाराचानां महाबलः ॥
हताश्वं रथम् उत्सृज्य स तु राजा श्रुतायुधः ॥
अभ्यद्रवद् रणे पार्थं गदाम् उद्यम्य वीर्यवान् ॥
tato 'rjunaḥ smayann eva śrutāyudham ariṃdamaḥ ||
śarair anekasāhasraiḥ pīḍayām āsa bhārata ||
aśvāṃś cāsyāvadhīt tūrṇaṃ sārathiṃ ca mahārathaḥ ||
vivyādha cainaṃ saptatyā nārācānāṃ mahābalaḥ ||
hatāśvaṃ ratham utsṛjya sa tu rājā śrutāyudhaḥ ||
abhyadravad raṇe pārthaṃ gadām udyamya vīryavān ||
Then Arjuna, as though smiling, the tamer of foes, pressed Shrutayudha hard with many thousands of arrows, O Bharata. And he swiftly slew his horses and his charioteer, the mighty warrior, and pierced him with seventy iron arrows, the mighty one. Abandoning the chariot with its slain horses, that same king Shrutayudha, valorous, charged at Partha in the battle, raising his mace.
ed0bffaa6e5e · published Jul 19, 2026, 3:45:02 PM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
Stripped of his horses and chariot, Shrutayudha seizes the mace -- the very one granted by Varuna. His valor is beyond doubt: even afoot, he advances upon the foe. But it is rage that drives him to this fatal step. It is telling that the instrument of his strength is about to become the instrument of his death. The verse teaches that a gift used against its appointed condition turns against its bearer: a strength given under a covenant protects only the one who keeps the covenant; and Shrutayudha, blinded, grasping the consecrated mace, carries his own death in his hand.