तथा प्रयुध्यमानेषु पाण्डवेयेषु निर्भयः ॥
दुर्योधनो महाराज व्यवगाहत तद् बलम् ॥
सैन्धवस्य वधेनैव भृशं दुःखसमन्वितः ॥
मर्तव्यम् इति संचिन्त्य प्राविशत् तु द्विषद्बलम् ॥
नादयन् रथघोषेण कम्पयन्न् इव मेदिनीम् ॥
अभ्यवर्तत पुत्रस् ते पाण्डवानाम् अनीकिनीम् ॥
स संनिपातस् तुमुलस् तस्य तेषां च भारत ॥
अभवत् सर्वसैन्यानाम् अभावकरणो महान् ॥
tathā prayudhyamāneṣu pāṇḍaveyeṣu nirbhayaḥ ||
duryodhano mahārāja vyavagāhata tad balam ||
saindhavasya vadhenaiva bhṛśaṃ duḥkhasamanvitaḥ ||
martavyam iti saṃcintya prāviśat tu dviṣadbalam ||
nādayan rathaghoṣeṇa kampayann iva medinīm ||
abhyavartata putras te pāṇḍavānām anīkinīm ||
sa saṃnipātas tumulas tasya teṣāṃ ca bhārata ||
abhavat sarvasainyānām abhāvakaraṇo mahān ||
While the Pandavas thus fought, the fearless Duryodhana, O great king, plunged into that army. Deeply overcome with grief at the slaying of Saindhava, thinking "I must die," he entered the enemy army. Making the chariot's rumble resound, as if shaking the earth, your son advanced upon the army of the Pandavas. That tumultuous clash of him and them, O Bharata, brought great annihilation upon all the armies.
aaab8af3efc7 · published Jul 19, 2026, 4:31:38 PM UTC
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Duryodhana, resolving "I must die," hurls himself into the thick of the enemy - and in this detachment from life finds a fearsome strength. It is telling that the one we have seen as faint-hearted and unrighteous now shows true valor. The verse teaches that the epic does not deny valor even to the unrighteous: even the wrongdoer has his hour of courage; one ready to die is terrible in battle, for he has nothing left to lose - but valor given to untruth remains a bitter spectacle.