Shloka 26
मकराक्षवधः
The Slaying of Makarākṣa
विद्धमन्योन्यगात्रेषुद्विगुणंवर्धतेपरम् ।कृतप्रतिकृतान्योन्यंकुरुतांतौरणाजिरे ।।।।
viddham anyonyagātreṣu dviguṇaṃ vardhate param | kṛtapratikṛtānyonyaṃ kurutāṃ tau raṇājire ||
互いの身は幾度も射貫かれながらも、その気迫はなお増し、倍して燃え上がった。戦場にて、二人は互いに打てば打ち返し、矢には矢で応じた。
Even though they were piercing one another with limbs, their strength remained doubled in the battlefield. Each of them was countering the other and inflicting and hitting each other.
FAQs
It cautions that cycles of retaliation can intensify conflict. In dharmic thought, even when force is necessary, restraint and right intention prevent violence from becoming self-feeding vengeance.
The combatants continue striking and counterstriking; despite wounds, the battle-fury escalates rather than subsides.
Vīrya (valor/steadfastness) is highlighted—endurance under injury—while implicitly inviting reflection on whether valor is guided by dharma or by anger.