ततो द्रुतम् अतिक्रम्य सिंहलाङ्गूलकेतनम् ॥
सव्यसाची महेष्वासम् अश्वत्थामानम् अब्रवीत् ॥
या शक्तिर् यच् च ते वीर्यं यज् ज्ञानं यच् च पौरुषम् ॥
धार्तराष्ट्रेषु या प्रीतिः प्रद्वेषो ऽस्मासु यश् च ते ॥
यच् च भूयो ऽस्ति तेजस् तत् परमं मम दर्शय ॥
स एव द्रोणहन्ता ते दर्पं भेत्स्यति पार्षतः ॥
कालानलसमप्रख्यो द्विषताम् अन्तको युधि ॥
समासादय पाञ्चाल्यं मां चापि सहकेशवम् ॥
tato drutam atikramya siṃhalāṅgūlaketanam ||
savyasācī maheṣvāsam aśvatthāmānam abravīt ||
yā śaktir yac ca te vīryaṃ yaj jñānaṃ yac ca pauruṣam ||
dhārtarāṣṭreṣu yā prītiḥ pradveṣo 'smāsu yaś ca te ||
yac ca bhūyo 'sti tejas tat paramaṃ mama darśaya ||
sa eva droṇahantā te darpaṃ bhetsyati pārṣataḥ ||
kālānalasamaprakhyo dviṣatām antako yudhi ||
samāsādaya pāñcālyaṃ māṃ cāpi sahakeśavam ||
Then, quickly overtaking [the warrior] with the lion's tail on his banner, Savyasachi [Arjuna] said to the great archer Ashvatthaman: "Whatever strength you have, whatever your valor, whatever knowledge and whatever manliness, whatever love for the Dhartarashtras and whatever hatred you bear toward us, and whatever further fire is in you -- show me the highest of it. That very slayer of Drona, Parshata, will break your pride -- like the fire of Kala, Antaka to foes in battle; face the Panchalya, and me too, together with Keshava."
f87763b998b5 · published Jul 19, 2026, 5:12:46 PM UTC
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Arjuna, usually respectful toward the teacher's son, now taunts him -- calling on him to show his full strength, pride, and enmity. It is telling that the challenge is born of grief and of the rift within the camp: pain turns the friendly into the provocateur. The verse teaches that even the gentle, wounded by sorrow, can grow harsh in a way foreign to their nature; and words born of anguish reveal not a man's character but the depth of his wound.