न संदधन् विमुञ्चन् वा मण्डलीकृतकार्मुकः ॥
अदृश्यत रिपून् निघ्नञ् शिक्षयास्त्रबलेन च ॥
तस्य तान् निघ्नतः शत्रून् हेमपृष्ठं महद् धनुः ॥
भल्लाभ्यां पाण्डवो ज्येष्ठस् त्रिधा चिच्छेद मारिष ॥
विव्याध चैनं बहुभिः सम्यग् अस्तैः शितैः शरैः ॥
वर्माण्य् आशु समासाद्य ते भग्नाः क्षितिम् आविशन् ॥
na saṃdadhan vimuñcan vā maṇḍalīkṛtakārmukaḥ ||
adṛśyata ripūn nighnañ śikṣayāstrabalena ca ||
tasya tān nighnataḥ śatrūn hemapṛṣṭhaṃ mahad dhanuḥ ||
bhallābhyāṃ pāṇḍavo jyeṣṭhas tridhā ciccheda māriṣa ||
vivyādha cainaṃ bahubhiḥ samyag astaiḥ śitaiḥ śaraiḥ ||
varmāṇy āśu samāsādya te bhagnāḥ kṣitim āviśan ||
"Neither nocking nor releasing [could be seen], with his bow bent into a circle, he appeared, slaying enemies by his training and by the power of his weapon-craft. As he was slaying those enemies, the eldest Pandava [Yudhishthira] cut his great gold-backed bow into three with two broad-headed arrows, O venerable one. And he pierced him with many truly aimed, sharp arrows; reaching his armor at once, they broke through it and sank into the ground."
bc3f33f7720f · published Jul 19, 2026, 4:08:02 PM UTC
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Duryodhana fights so swiftly that neither the drawing nor the loosing can be seen -- only the circle of the bow: the summit of mastery. But the gentle Yudhishthira cuts his bow into three and pierces his armor. It is telling that even the most terrible fighter of that day is overcome by the righteous king. The verse teaches that skill given over to unrighteousness meets its limit in the hand of the righteous: however swift Duryodhana may be, valor grounded in dharma overcomes him -- and the gentlest proves fiercer than the pampered, arrogant one.