न तादृशं रणे कर्म कृतवन्तस् तु तावकाः ॥
यादृशं कृतवान् राजा पुत्रस् तव विशां पते ॥
पुत्रेण तव सा सेना पाण्डवी मथिता रणे ॥
नलिनी द्विरदेनेव समन्तात् फुल्लपङ्कजा ॥
क्षीणतोयानिलार्काभ्यां हतत्विड् इव पद्मिनी ॥
बभूव पाण्डवी सेना तव पुत्रस्य तेजसा ॥
na tādṛśaṃ raṇe karma kṛtavantas tu tāvakāḥ ||
yādṛśaṃ kṛtavān rājā putras tava viśāṃ pate ||
putreṇa tava sā senā pāṇḍavī mathitā raṇe ||
nalinī dviradeneva samantāt phullapaṅkajā ||
kṣīṇatoyānilārkābhyāṃ hatatviḍ iva padminī ||
babhūva pāṇḍavī senā tava putrasya tejasā ||
Not such a deed in battle did your own warriors perform as the king, your son, performed, O lord of peoples. By your son that army of the Pandavas was churned in battle, as a lotus-pond with lotuses in full bloom on every side is churned by an elephant. Like a lotus deprived of its radiance when water, wind, and sun have failed it, so the army of the Pandavas became by the splendor of your son.
4d46e7ae2044 · published Jul 19, 2026, 4:31:38 PM UTC
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Duryodhana alone accomplishes what the entire army could not: the detached resolve of one man surpasses the efforts of many. It is telling that the army of the Pandavas is likened to a lotus deprived of its life-giving elements: fearsome strength can, for a time, eclipse even the righteous. The verse teaches that the valor of one who does not cling to life may for an hour shake even the strongest; but it is only an hour - for behind the righteous stands what the unrighteous lacks: not the brilliance of despair, but the steadfastness of truth.