शरैः सुतीक्ष्णैः शतशो ऽभ्यविध्यत्; सुदर्शनः सात्वतमुख्यम् आजौ ॥
अनागतान् एव तु तान् पृषत्कांश्; चिच्छेद बाणैः शिनिपुंगवो ऽपि ॥
तथैव शक्रप्रतिमो ऽपि सात्यकिः; सुदर्शने यान् क्षिपति स्म सायकान् ॥
द्विधा त्रिधा तान् अकरोत् सुदर्शनः; शरोत्तमैः स्यन्दनवर्यम् आस्थितः ॥
śaraiḥ sutīkṣṇaiḥ śataśo 'bhyavidhyat; sudarśanaḥ sātvatamukhyam ājau ||
anāgatān eva tu tān pṛṣatkāṃś; ciccheda bāṇaiḥ śinipuṃgavo 'pi ||
tathaiva śakrapratimo 'pi sātyakiḥ; sudarśane yān kṣipati sma sāyakān ||
dvidhā tridhā tān akarot sudarśanaḥ; śarottamaiḥ syandanavaryam āsthitaḥ ||
Sudarshana pierced the chief of the Satvatas in battle with keenly whetted arrows by the hundreds; but those arrows, not yet arrived, the bull of Shini's line cut down with his own arrows. Likewise Satyaki, equal to Shakra -- whatever arrows he hurled at Sudarshana, those Sudarshana split into two and three pieces with excellent arrows, standing on his finest chariot.
d68a73e3352c · published Jul 19, 2026, 4:08:02 PM UTC
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Both cut down each other's arrows still in flight: equal skill meets equal skill. It is telling that even here the clash of the accomplished yields no easy advantage. The verse teaches that between equals in mastery there is no unfair gain: every design meets an equal counter, and in the end victory belongs not to superior hand but to what stands above it -- the higher order and the rightness of the cause.