प्रतिविन्ध्यम् अथ क्रुद्धं प्रदहन्तं रणे रिपून् ॥
दुःशासनस् तव सुतः प्रत्युद्गच्छन् महारथः ॥
तयोः समागमो राजंश् चित्ररूपो बभूव ह ॥
व्यपेतजलदे व्योम्नि बुधभार्गवयोर् इव ॥
प्रतिविन्ध्यं तु समरे कुर्वाणं कर्म दुष्करम् ॥
दुःशासनस् त्रिभिर् बाणैर् ललाटे समविध्यत ॥
सो ऽतिविद्धो बलवता पुत्रेण तव धन्विना ॥
विरराज महाबाहुः सशृङ्ग इव पर्वतः ॥
prativindhyam atha kruddhaṃ pradahantaṃ raṇe ripūn ||
duḥśāsanas tava sutaḥ pratyudgacchan mahārathaḥ ||
tayoḥ samāgamo rājaṃś citrarūpo babhūva ha ||
vyapetajalade vyomni budhabhārgavayor iva ||
prativindhyaṃ tu samare kurvāṇaṃ karma duṣkaram ||
duḥśāsanas tribhir bāṇair lalāṭe samavidhyata ||
so 'tividdho balavatā putreṇa tava dhanvinā ||
virarāja mahābāhuḥ saśṛṅga iva parvataḥ ||
Then Duhshasana, your son, great warrior, came out to meet the enraged Prativindhya, who was burning the foes in battle. The meeting of those two, O king, became wondrous in appearance — in the cloudless sky, like that of Budha [Mercury] and Bhargava [Venus]. And Prativindhya, in battle, who was performing a difficult deed, Duhshasana pierced in the forehead with three arrows. He, cruelly pierced by your mighty archer son, shone, the mighty-armed one, like a mountain with a peak.
6d13ff5d7d2f · published Jul 19, 2026, 4:49:34 PM UTC
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The arrows lodged in Prativindhya's forehead turn him into "a mountain with a peak": the wound becomes a crown. It is notable that the duel is likened to the meeting of Mercury and Venus — two heavenly bodies whose conjunction is both ominous and beautiful. The verse teaches that a wound borne steadfastly does not diminish a warrior but exalts him; and one who does not flinch under a blow to the very brow stands unshaken, like a mountain crowned with its peak — an image of dignity unbroken by pain.