ताव् अन्योन्यम् अभिद्रुत्य केशेषु सुमहाबलौ ॥
भुजाभ्यां पर्यगृह्णीतां महाकायौ महाबलौ ॥
तौ भिन्नगात्रौ प्रस्वेदं सुस्रुवाते जनाधिप ॥
रुधिरं च महाकायाव् अभिवृष्टाव् इवाचलौ ॥
अथाभिपत्य वेगेन समुद्भ्राम्य च राक्षसम् ॥
बलेनाक्षिप्य हैडिम्बश् चकर्तास्य शिरो महत् ॥
सो ऽपहृत्य शिरस् तस्य कुण्डलाभ्यां विभूषितम् ॥
तदा सुतुमुलं नादं ननाद सुमहाबलः ॥
tāv anyonyam abhidrutya keśeṣu sumahābalau ||
bhujābhyāṃ paryagṛhṇītāṃ mahākāyau mahābalau ||
tau bhinnagātrau prasvedaṃ susruvāte janādhipa ||
rudhiraṃ ca mahākāyāv abhivṛṣṭāv ivācalau ||
athābhipatya vegena samudbhrāmya ca rākṣasam ||
balenākṣipya haiḍimbaś cakartāsya śiro mahat ||
so 'pahṛtya śiras tasya kuṇḍalābhyāṃ vibhūṣitam ||
tadā sutumulaṃ nādaṃ nanāda sumahābalaḥ ||
...having taken up sharp swords, they struck one another. Both, having rushed at one another, seized each other by the hair, most mighty, and grasped one another with their arms, huge-bodied, mighty. Both, with bodies pierced, poured forth sweat, O lord of men, and blood, huge-bodied, like mountains drenched with rain. Then, having rushed swiftly and whirled the rakshasa about, having hurled him by force, the son of Hidimba cut off his large head. He, having taken his head, adorned with earrings...
ecd53f84218d · published Jul 19, 2026, 4:58:10 PM UTC
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The duel descends to hand-to-hand combat — gripping by the hair, bodies wrestling — and Ghatotkacha, whirling his enemy about, beheads him. It is telling that after weapons and sorcery, the outcome is decided by raw bodily strength. The verse teaches that in a contest of equals, once all stratagems are spent, victory goes to whoever has, at the decisive moment, the strength and resolve for the final blow; and the fearsome Alayudha fell not to cunning but to plain superiority in that single instant.