तांस् त्रास्यमानान् भीमेन दृष्ट्वा रक्षो महाबलम् ॥
अभिदुद्राव वेगेन शरैश् चैनम् अवाकिरत् ॥
तं भीमसेनः समरे तीक्ष्णाग्रैर् अक्षिणोच् छरैः ॥
अलायुधस् तु तान् अस्तान् भीमेन विशिखान् रणे ॥
चिच्छेद कांश् चित् समरे त्वरया कांश् चिद् अग्रहीत् ॥
स तं दृष्ट्वा राक्षसेन्द्रं भीमो भीमपराक्रमः ॥
गदां चिक्षेप वेगेन वज्रपातोपमां तदा ॥
ताम् आपतन्तीं वेगेन गदां ज्वालाकुलां ततः ॥
गदया ताडयाम् आस सा गदा भीमम् आव्रजत् ॥
tāṃs trāsyamānān bhīmena dṛṣṭvā rakṣo mahābalam ||
abhidudrāva vegena śaraiś cainam avākirat ||
taṃ bhīmasenaḥ samare tīkṣṇāgrair akṣiṇoc charaiḥ ||
alāyudhas tu tān astān bhīmena viśikhān raṇe ||
ciccheda kāṃś cit samare tvarayā kāṃś cid agrahīt ||
sa taṃ dṛṣṭvā rākṣasendraṃ bhīmo bhīmaparākramaḥ ||
gadāṃ cikṣepa vegena vajrapātopamāṃ tadā ||
tām āpatantīṃ vegena gadāṃ jvālākulāṃ tataḥ ||
gadayā tāḍayām āsa sā gadā bhīmam āvrajat ||
Seeing them terrified by Bhima, the mighty rakshasa rushed forward swiftly and overwhelmed him with arrows. Bhimasena in the battle wounded him with sharp-pointed arrows; but Alayudha, of those shafts shot by Bhima in the fray, cut down some and swiftly caught others. Seeing that lord of rakshasas, Bhima of terrible prowess hurled a mace swiftly, resembling the fall of a thunderbolt. As it rushed on swiftly, the mace wrapped in flame, then [Alayudha struck it aside].
d2283712bebe · published Jul 19, 2026, 4:58:10 PM UTC
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Alayudha catches some of the arrows with his hands — a skill bordering on the miraculous; Bhima answers by hurling a blazing mace. It is telling that the contest rises from arrows to heavy weapons, from might to might. The verse teaches that a meeting of equals passes through every stage of struggle: where the arrow fails to decide, the mace comes into play; and the contest of giants goes on, rising from skill to sheer force, until it yields that one predestined blow that tips the balance.