सो ऽतिविद्धो महेष्वासः सर्वतस् तैर् महारथैः ॥
प्रतिविव्याध तान् सर्वान् पञ्चभिः पञ्चभिः शरैः ॥
तं क्रुद्धं राक्षसं युद्धे प्रतिक्रुद्धस् तु राक्षसः ॥
हैडिम्बो भरतश्रेष्ठ शरैर् विव्याध सप्तभिः ॥
so 'tividdho maheṣvāsaḥ sarvatas tair mahārathaiḥ ||
prativivyādha tān sarvān pañcabhiḥ pañcabhiḥ śaraiḥ ||
taṃ kruddhaṃ rākṣasaṃ yuddhe pratikruddhas tu rākṣasaḥ ||
haiḍimbo bharataśreṣṭha śarair vivyādha saptabhiḥ ||
He, the great bowman, sorely pierced on every side by those great warriors, pierced all of them back in turn, five arrows each. And when that rakshasa [Alambusa] grew enraged in battle, the rakshasa enraged in return, Hidimba's son [Ghatotkacha], O best of the Bharatas, struck him with seven arrows.
42de8d32eeb6 · published Jul 19, 2026, 4:02:23 PM UTC
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Alambusa, wounded from every side, still answers each attacker: cornered evil holds on tenaciously. But against him rises "the rakshasa enraged in turn" — Ghatotkacha, who has turned his own rakshasa nature to the service of truth. It is telling that here darkness is overcome not by light from outside but by a power kindred to it in nature, yet chosen for dharma. The verse teaches that even powers that share in darkness by birth may become instruments of truth once given over to it; a transformed nature serves dharma where mere native valor does not suffice.