Text 9
te vai lalāṭa-lagnais tair
iṣubhiḥ sarva eva hi
matvā nirastam ātmānam
āśaṁsan karma tasya tat
te — they; vai — certainly; lalāṭa-lagnaiḥ — intent upon their heads; taiḥ — by those; iṣubhiḥ — arrows; sarve — all of them; eva — certainly; hi — without fail; matvā — thinking; nirastam — defeated; ātmānam — themselves; āśaṁsan — praised; karma — action; tasya — of him; tat — that.
When the heroes of the Yakṣas saw that all their heads were being thus threatened by Dhruva Mahārāja, they could very easily understand their awkward position, and they concluded that they would certainly be defeated. But, as heroes, they lauded the action of Dhruva.
This spirit of fighting in a sporting attitude is very significant in this verse. The Yakṣas were severely attacked. Dhruva Mahārāja was their enemy, but still, upon witnessing the wonderful, heroic acts of Mahārāja Dhruva, they were very pleased with him. This straightforward appreciation of an enemy’s prowess is a characteristic of real kṣatriya spirit.