शिखण्डी चापि हार्दिक्यं विद्ध्वा पञ्चभिर् आशुगैः ॥
पुनर् विव्याध विंशत्या सायकानां हसन्न् इव ॥
कृतवर्मा ततो राजन् सर्वतस् तान् महारथान् ॥
एकैकं पञ्चभिर् विद्ध्वा भीमं विव्याध सप्तभिः ॥
धनुर् ध्वजं च संयत्तो रथाद् भूमाव् अपातयत् ॥
अथैनं छिन्नधन्वानं त्वरमाणो महारथः ॥
आजघानोरसि क्रुद्धः सप्तत्या निशितैः शरैः ॥
śikhaṇḍī cāpi hārdikyaṃ viddhvā pañcabhir āśugaiḥ ||
punar vivyādha viṃśatyā sāyakānāṃ hasann iva ||
kṛtavarmā tato rājan sarvatas tān mahārathān ||
ekaikaṃ pañcabhir viddhvā bhīmaṃ vivyādha saptabhiḥ ||
dhanur dhvajaṃ ca saṃyatto rathād bhūmāv apātayat ||
athainaṃ chinnadhanvānaṃ tvaramāṇo mahārathaḥ ||
ājaghānorasi kruddhaḥ saptatyā niśitaiḥ śaraiḥ ||
And Shikhandin, having pierced the son of Hridika with five swift [arrows], again pierced him with twenty arrows, as if laughing. Kritavarman then, O king, having pierced each of those great warriors on every side with five [arrows], pierced Bhima with seven; then, his bow cut away, hastening, the great warrior, enraged, struck him [in] the chest with seventy sharp arrows.
fd82ced5a640 · published Jul 19, 2026, 4:02:23 PM UTC
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Kritavarman answers everyone at once -- "sarvataḥ... ekaikaṃ pañcabhiḥ": one man repaying each of the many. It is significant that his unshaken command amid the onslaught is a mark of self-possession. The verse teaches that among many, victory belongs not to impulse but to composure: whoever answers each attacker in turn without losing his poise, amid a general assault, masters the battle, for cold calculation is more reliable than blind fury.