यो ऽवधीत् केतुमाञ् शूरो राजपुत्रं सुदर्शनम् ॥
अपरान्तगिरिद्वारे कस् तं द्रोणाद् अवारयत् ॥
स्त्रीपूर्वो यो नरव्याघ्रो यः स वेद गुणागुणान् ॥
शिखण्डिनं याज्ञसेनिम् अम्लानमनसं युधि ॥
देवव्रतस्य समरे हेतुं मृत्योर् महात्मनः ॥
द्रोणायाभिमुखं यान्तं के वीराः पर्यवारयन् ॥
yo 'vadhīt ketumāñ śūro rājaputraṃ sudarśanam ||
aparāntagiridvāre kas taṃ droṇād avārayat ||
strīpūrvo yo naravyāghro yaḥ sa veda guṇāguṇān ||
śikhaṇḍinaṃ yājñasenim amlānamanasaṃ yudhi ||
devavratasya samare hetuṃ mṛtyor mahātmanaḥ ||
droṇāyābhimukhaṃ yāntaṃ ke vīrāḥ paryavārayan ||
He who, the hero Ketuman, slew the prince Sudarshana at the western mountain pass -- who held him back from Drona? The tiger among men, formerly a woman, who knows good and evil -- Shikhandin, son of Yajnasena [Drupada], unyielding in spirit in battle, [who had been] the cause of the death of the great-souled Devavrata [Bhishma] in the fray, going straight against Drona -- what heroes held him back?
13368fe56e25 · प्रकाशित 19 जुल॰ 2026, 2:46:26 pm UTC
उपलब्ध भाषाएँRUENश्लोक बदलें इन कुंजियों से
Shikhandin is recalled -- 'the cause of Bhishma's death': the account reminds us of the grandfather just fallen, binding the present battle to the one before. It is telling that Shikhandin was 'formerly a woman' and became the instrument of the invincible one's fall: the highest orderer chooses the instruments of his will where none would expect them, and the power of fate works through what appears weak. Of him it is also said that he 'knows good and evil' -- the transformation he underwent granted him this knowledge. The verse teaches that the instruments of the higher will are often unnoticed and unexpected; that what is weak by human judgment may be chosen to bring down the strong; and that one who has passed through trial and transformation gains a discernment of good and evil unavailable to the untried.