कार्मुकप्रवरं चास्य प्रचिच्छेद शितैः शरैः ॥
सारथिं चास्य भल्लेन रथनीडाद् अपातयत् ॥
धृष्टद्युम्नस् तु विरथो हताश्वो हतसारथिः ॥
गृहीत्वा परिघं घोरं कर्णस्याश्वान् अपीपिषत् ॥
विद्धश् च बहुभिस् तेन शरैर् आशीविषोपमैः ॥
ततो युधिष्ठिरानीकं पद्भ्याम् एवान्ववर्तत ॥
आरुरोह रथं चापि सहदेवस्य मारिष ॥
कर्णस्यापि रथे वाहान् अन्यान् सूतो न्ययोजयत् ॥
शङ्खवर्णान् महावेगान् सैन्धवान् साधुवाहिनः ॥
kārmukapravaraṃ cāsya praciccheda śitaiḥ śaraiḥ ||
sārathiṃ cāsya bhallena rathanīḍād apātayat ||
dhṛṣṭadyumnas tu viratho hatāśvo hatasārathiḥ ||
gṛhītvā parighaṃ ghoraṃ karṇasyāśvān apīpiṣat ||
viddhaś ca bahubhis tena śarair āśīviṣopamaiḥ ||
tato yudhiṣṭhirānīkaṃ padbhyām evānvavartata ||
āruroha rathaṃ cāpi sahadevasya māriṣa ||
karṇasyāpi rathe vāhān anyān sūto nyayojayat ||
śaṅkhavarṇān mahāvegān saindhavān sādhuvāhinaḥ ||
And with sharp arrows he cut through his excellent bow, and with a broad-headed arrow cast his charioteer down from the chariot platform. And Dhrishtadyumna, without chariot, with his horses and charioteer slain, seizing a fearsome mace, crushed the horses of Karna. And pierced by many of his arrows resembling serpents, he then went on foot to the host of Yudhishthira, and mounted the chariot of Sahadeva, o venerable one. And onto Karna's chariot the charioteer yoked other horses.
190ef964f344 · published Jul 19, 2026, 4:49:34 PM UTC
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Stripped of chariot and horses, Dhrishtadyumna does not yield, but with a mace shatters the enemy's team and walks on foot to his own side. His persistence is telling: unarmed, wounded, he still deals damage. The verse teaches that valor lies not in invulnerability but in unbendingness: having lost everything, the warrior turns whatever comes to hand into a weapon and does not leave the field without a blow struck; and to withdraw after landing a return strike is more worthy than to fall in helplessness.