ततो विस्फार्य नयने क्रोधाद् द्विगुणविक्रमः ॥
मद्रराजरथं तूर्णं छादयाम् आस पत्रिभिः ॥
ततो मद्राधिपः क्रुद्धः शतेन नतपर्वणाम् ॥
आजघानोरसि दृढं विराटं वाहिनीपतिम् ॥
सो ऽतिविद्धो महाराज रथोपस्थ उपाविशत् ॥
कश्मलं चाविशत् तीव्रं विराटो भरतर्षभ ॥
सारथिस् तम् अपोवाह समरे शरविक्षतम् ॥
ततः सा महती सेना प्राद्रवन् निशि भारत ॥
वध्यमाना शरशतैः शल्येनाहवशोभिना ॥
tato visphārya nayane krodhād dviguṇavikramaḥ ||
madrarājarathaṃ tūrṇaṃ chādayām āsa patribhiḥ ||
tato madrādhipaḥ kruddhaḥ śatena nataparvaṇām ||
ājaghānorasi dṛḍhaṃ virāṭaṃ vāhinīpatim ||
so 'tividdho mahārāja rathopastha upāviśat ||
kaśmalaṃ cāviśat tīvraṃ virāṭo bharatarṣabha ||
sārathis tam apovāha samare śaravikṣatam ||
tataḥ sā mahatī senā prādravan niśi bhārata ||
vadhyamānā śaraśataiḥ śalyenāhavaśobhinā ||
When that hero [Shatanika] had been slain, Virata, best of warriors, swiftly mounted a chariot -- that very one, adorned with banners. Then, his eyes opened wide from anger, with doubled valor, he swiftly covered the chariot of the king of Madra with feathered arrows. Then the enraged lord of Madra struck Virata, the army commander, firmly in the chest with a hundred smooth-jointed arrows. He, sorely pierced, O great king, sank onto the floor of his chariot, and a deep faintness overcame Virata, O bull among Bharatas.
456e5723cc0a · published Jul 19, 2026, 4:49:34 PM UTC
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Virata, having lost his son, fights "with doubled valor": grief turns into fury, but brings no victory. It is telling that a warrior inflamed by loss becomes doubly vulnerable -- anger clouds his judgment, and Shalya strikes him down. The verse teaches that sorrow poured into rage does not steady the hand: one blinded by pain fights desperately but rashly; and vengeance born of grief more often leads the avenger to his own ruin than to triumph over the foe.