ततो गजशिशुप्रख्यैर् उपलैः शैलवासिनः ॥
उद्यतैर् युयुधानस्य स्थिता मरणकाङ्क्षिणः ॥
क्षेपणीयैस् तथाप्य् अन्ये सात्वतस्य वधैषिणः ॥
चोदितास् तव पुत्रेण रुरुधुः सर्वतोदिशम् ॥
तेषाम् आपतताम् एव शिलायुद्धं चिकीर्षताम् ॥
सात्यकिः प्रतिसंधाय त्रिंशतं प्राहिणोच् छरान् ॥
tato gajaśiśuprakhyair upalaiḥ śailavāsinaḥ ||
udyatair yuyudhānasya sthitā maraṇakāṅkṣiṇaḥ ||
kṣepaṇīyais tathāpy anye sātvatasya vadhaiṣiṇaḥ ||
coditās tava putreṇa rurudhuḥ sarvatodiśam ||
teṣām āpatatām eva śilāyuddhaṃ cikīrṣatām ||
sātyakiḥ pratisaṃdhāya triṃśataṃ prāhiṇoc charān ||
"Then, with stones like elephant calves, the mountain-dwellers raised their rocks against Yuyudhana, stood there craving death. Others too, with slings, desiring the destruction of the Sātvata, urged on by your son, sealed off every direction. Against them, just as they were falling upon him, wishing to wage a battle of stones, Satyaki, having nocked his bow, sent forth thirty arrows."
c9f4d2d035a8 · published Jul 19, 2026, 4:08:02 PM UTC
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The mountaineers stand "maraṇakāṅkṣiṇaḥ", craving death, at Duhshasana's command: the unrighteous spends other lives without count. It is telling that their readiness to die serves not truth but the instigator's whim. The verse teaches that self-sacrifice given to an unrighteous cause is squandered: courage that destroys itself for another's wrong is not crowned with glory but only multiplies senseless victims, for valor is sacred only where it serves truth.