संजय उवाच
शतानीकं शरैस् तूर्णं निर्दहन्तं चमूं तव ॥
चित्रसेनस् तव सुतो वारयाम् आस भारत ॥
नाकुलिश् चित्रसेनं तु नाराचेनार्दयद् भृशम् ॥
स च तं प्रतिविव्याध दशभिर् निशितैः शरैः ॥
चित्रसेनो महाराज शतानीकं पुनर् युधि ॥
नवभिर् निशितैर् बाणैर् आजघान स्तनान्तरे ॥
नाकुलिस् तस्य विशिखैर् वर्म संनतपर्वभिः ॥
गात्रात् संच्यावयाम् आस तद् अद्भुतम् इवाभवत् ॥
saṃjaya uvāca
śatānīkaṃ śarais tūrṇaṃ nirdahantaṃ camūṃ tava ||
citrasenas tava suto vārayām āsa bhārata ||
nākuliś citrasenaṃ tu nārācenārdayad bhṛśam ||
sa ca taṃ prativivyādha daśabhir niśitaiḥ śaraiḥ ||
citraseno mahārāja śatānīkaṃ punar yudhi ||
navabhir niśitair bāṇair ājaghāna stanāntare ||
nākulis tasya viśikhair varma saṃnataparvabhiḥ ||
gātrāt saṃcyāvayām āsa tad adbhutam ivābhavat ||
Citrasena, your son, checked Shatanika, who was burning your army with arrows, O Bharata. And the son of Nakula struck Citrasena cruelly with an iron arrow; and he pierced him in return with ten sharp arrows. Citrasena, O great king, once more in battle struck Shatanika between the breasts with nine sharp arrows. The son of Nakula tore his armor from his body with smooth-jointed arrows; and it was as if a marvel.
6640180eb842 · published Jul 19, 2026, 4:49:34 PM UTC
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Two cousins clash — the son of Dhritarashtra and the son of Nakula — and the verse does not divide them into right and wrong, but equates them in valor. It is notable that stripping the enemy's armor with arrows is called "as if a marvel": even in fratricidal slaughter, skill is prized. The verse teaches that the tragedy of Kurukshetra lies not in a struggle of good against evil, but in the fact that kinsmen, equal in courage, destroy one another; and the more valiant both sides are, the bitterer their strife.