न वशं यज्ञशीलस्य गच्छेद् एष वरारिहन् ॥
त्वत्कृते पुरुषव्याघ्र तद् आशु क्रियतां विभो ॥
अथाब्रवीद् धृष्टमना वासुदेवं धनंजयः ॥
पश्य वृष्णिप्रवीरेण क्रीडन्तं कुरुपुंगवम् ॥
महाद्विपेनेव वने मत्तेन हरियूथपम् ॥
हाहाकारो महान् आसीत् सैन्यानां भरतर्षभ ॥
यद् उद्यम्य महाबाहुः सात्यकिं न्यहनद् भुवि ॥
स सिंह इव मातङ्गं विकर्षन् भूरिदक्षिणः ॥
व्यरोचत कुरुश्रेष्ठः सात्वतप्रवरं युधि ॥
na vaśaṃ yajñaśīlasya gacched eṣa varārihan ||
tvatkṛte puruṣavyāghra tad āśu kriyatāṃ vibho ||
athābravīd dhṛṣṭamanā vāsudevaṃ dhanaṃjayaḥ ||
paśya vṛṣṇipravīreṇa krīḍantaṃ kurupuṃgavam ||
mahādvipeneva vane mattena hariyūthapam ||
hāhākāro mahān āsīt sainyānāṃ bharatarṣabha ||
yad udyamya mahābāhuḥ sātyakiṃ nyahanad bhuvi ||
sa siṃha iva mātaṅgaṃ vikarṣan bhūridakṣiṇaḥ ||
vyarocata kuruśreṣṭhaḥ sātvatapravaraṃ yudhi ||
"Let him not fall, O best slayer of foes, into the power of the one devoted to sacrifice [Bhurishravas] -- for your sake, O tiger among men; let this be done swiftly, O lord." Then Dhananjaya, bold in spirit, said to Vasudeva: "Look, how the bull of Kuru toys with the hero of Vrishni." A great cry of "alas!" arose among the troops, O bull among Bharatas, when the mighty-armed one, having lifted Satyaki, struck him down to the ground. He, dragging the foremost of the Satvatas in battle as a lion drags a great elephant, Bhuridakshina, the best of the Kurus, shone.
7a7da3017ce8 · published Jul 19, 2026, 4:25:13 PM UTC
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The army groans "alas!" at seeing Satyaki struck down: the shared grief acknowledges the injustice of an unequal reckoning. It is telling that Bhurishravas "plays" with the fallen man, dragging him as a lion drags an elephant: triumph has turned into cruel sport. The verse teaches that humiliating the fallen repels even onlookers; and one who, having prevailed, toys with the sufferings of the defeated turns a lawful victory into an ugliness painful to behold.