वासुदेवं त्रिभिर् विद्ध्वा पुनः पार्थं च पञ्चभिः ॥
तस्य पार्थो धनुश् छित्त्वा केतुं चिच्छेद मारिष ॥
भल्लाभ्यां भृशतीक्ष्णाभ्यां तं च विव्याध पाण्डवः ॥
स तु पार्थं त्रिभिर् विद्ध्वा सिंहनादम् अथानदत् ॥
सर्वपारशवीं चैव शक्तिं शूरः सुदक्षिणः ॥
सघण्टां प्राहिणोद् घोरां क्रुद्धो गाण्डीवधन्वने ॥
vāsudevaṃ tribhir viddhvā punaḥ pārthaṃ ca pañcabhiḥ ||
tasya pārtho dhanuś chittvā ketuṃ ciccheda māriṣa ||
bhallābhyāṃ bhṛśatīkṣṇābhyāṃ taṃ ca vivyādha pāṇḍavaḥ ||
sa tu pārthaṃ tribhir viddhvā siṃhanādam athānadat ||
sarvapāraśavīṃ caiva śaktiṃ śūraḥ sudakṣiṇaḥ ||
saghaṇṭāṃ prāhiṇod ghorāṃ kruddho gāṇḍīvadhanvane ||
Having pierced Vasudeva with three arrows and Partha again with five, Partha in turn cut his bow, and cut his banner too, O venerable one. With two exceedingly sharp bhallas he pierced him further; he, having pierced Partha with three arrows, then let out a lion's roar. And valiant Sudakshina, enraged, hurled a fearsome all-iron javelin fitted with little bells at the wielder of the Gandiva.
cfc3f8a35d84 · published Jul 19, 2026, 3:45:02 PM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
Sudakshina fights worthily — he pierces both Krishna and Arjuna, and lets out a lion's roar. His valor is beyond doubt, yet it stands in defense of untruth. It is telling that the poem freely displays the enemy's courage without diminishing it. The verse teaches that the tragedy of war lies in the death of worthy men on the wrong side: Sudakshina is brave and skilled, yet he stands for the cause of lawlessness, and so his valor leads only to ruin; one should mourn not only the fallen righteous but also the valiant who were deceived by the unrighteous side.