तस्मिंस् तु तुमुले युद्धे वर्तमाने महाभये ॥
हत्वा सर्वाणि सैन्यानि प्रायात् सात्यकिर् अर्जुनम् ॥
कवचानां प्रभास् तत्र सूर्यरश्मिविचित्रिताः ॥
दृष्टीः संख्ये सैनिकानां प्रतिजघ्नुः समन्ततः ॥
तथा प्रयतमानेषु पाण्डवेयेषु निर्भयः ॥
दुर्योधनो महाराज व्यगाहत महद् बलम् ॥
स संनिपातस् तुमुलस् तेषां तस्य च भारत ॥
अभवत् सर्वसैन्यानाम् अभावकरणो महान् ॥
tasmiṃs tu tumule yuddhe vartamāne mahābhaye ||
hatvā sarvāṇi sainyāni prāyāt sātyakir arjunam ||
kavacānāṃ prabhās tatra sūryaraśmivicitritāḥ ||
dṛṣṭīḥ saṃkhye sainikānāṃ pratijaghnuḥ samantataḥ ||
tathā prayatamāneṣu pāṇḍaveyeṣu nirbhayaḥ ||
duryodhano mahārāja vyagāhata mahad balam ||
sa saṃnipātas tumulas teṣāṃ tasya ca bhārata ||
abhavat sarvasainyānām abhāvakaraṇo mahān ||
"And in that same tumultuous, terrible battle unfolding, having cut down all the hosts, Satyaki went toward Arjuna. There the gleam of armors, adorned by the rays of the sun, dazzled the eyes of the soldiers on every side. So while the Pandavas were striving, the fearless Duryodhana, O great king, plunged into the great host. That tumultuous clash between them and him, O descendant of Bharata, was for all the hosts a great bringer of annihilation."
74d349bc3465 · published Jul 19, 2026, 4:08:02 PM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
Duryodhana, "nirbhayaḥ... vyagāhata mahat balam", fearlessly plunges into the great army: even the instigator of the feud is not lacking in personal courage. It is telling that valor can dwell even in one who is unrighteous. The verse teaches that courage by itself is not yet virtue: Duryodhana's fearlessness is genuine, but given to an unrighteous cause -- and so his valor does not crown him but only prolongs the "abhāvakaraṇa", the clash ruinous to all, for daring without righteousness only multiplies destruction.