Shloka 13
इन्द्रजिद्-लक्ष्मणयुद्धम्
Indrajit and Lakṣmaṇa: Escalation through Concealment
तमभ्याशगतं राजा पदातिं कुन्तिनन्दन: । अर्धचन्द्रेण बाणेन विव्याधोरसि धर्मराट्,उसे पैदल ही पास आया देख कुन्तीनन्दन धर्मराज युधिष्ठिरने अर्धचन्द्राकार बाणसे उसकी छातीको छेद डाला
tam abhyāśagataṃ rājā padātiṃ kuntīnandanaḥ | ardhacandreṇa bāṇena vivyādhorasi dharmarāṭ ||
Vaiśaṃpāyana said: Seeing that the foot-soldier had come close, King Yudhiṣṭhira—the son of Kuntī, steadfast in dharma—pierced him in the chest with a crescent-shaped arrow. Even in the press of combat, the narrative frames Yudhiṣṭhira’s action as disciplined kingship: force employed decisively to meet an immediate threat, not as cruelty but as duty-bound protection in war.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights dharma in action: a righteous king uses necessary force with restraint and clarity of purpose, responding to an immediate threat as part of kṣatriya duty rather than from anger or cruelty.
An infantryman approaches closely; Yudhiṣṭhira (Dharmarāja), seeing this, shoots a crescent-shaped arrow and pierces the man in the chest.