शतशश् चापरान् योधान् सद्विपाश्वरथान् रणे ॥
शरैर् अवचकर्तोग्रैः क्रुद्धो ऽन्तक इव प्रजाः ॥
तस्य तान् निघ्नतः शत्रून् रुक्मपृष्ठं महद् धनुः ॥
भल्लाभ्यां पाण्डवो ज्येष्ठस् त्रिधा चिच्छेद मारिष ॥
विव्याध चैनं दशभिः सम्यगस्तैः शितैः शरैः ॥
मर्माणि भित्त्वा ते सर्वे संभग्नाः क्षितिम् आविशन् ॥
śataśaś cāparān yodhān sadvipāśvarathān raṇe ||
śarair avacakartograiḥ kruddho 'ntaka iva prajāḥ ||
tasya tān nighnataḥ śatrūn rukmapṛṣṭhaṃ mahad dhanuḥ ||
bhallābhyāṃ pāṇḍavo jyeṣṭhas tridhā ciccheda māriṣa ||
vivyādha cainaṃ daśabhiḥ samyagastaiḥ śitaiḥ śaraiḥ ||
marmāṇi bhittvā te sarve saṃbhagnāḥ kṣitim āviśan ||
And hundreds of other warriors, with fine elephants, horses, and chariots, he cut down in battle with fierce arrows, enraged like Antaka among creatures. As he struck down those enemies, the eldest Pandava [Yudhishthira] cut his great golden-backed bow into three with two bhallas, O venerable one, and pierced him with ten truly aimed, sharp arrows; piercing the vital points, all of them, shattered, sank into the earth.
c3a301a7cd02 · published Jul 19, 2026, 4:31:38 PM UTC
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Duryodhana's hour of glory is cut short by Yudhishthira, who splits his bow into three: the gentle righteous one rises against the fearsome one. It is telling that it is the King of Dharma himself who comes to check this unrighteous valor: righteousness confronts the brilliance of despair. The verse teaches that the hour of the unrighteous man's courage is short; and when a fearsome strength that has given itself to untruth revels in triumph, the steadfastness of dharma rises to meet it, before which even the splendor of the doomed grows dim.