06.101
Core and Pancharatra: Duryodhana sends Duḥśāsana along with his army to give cover to Bhishma; Duryodhana also dispatches ten thousand skilled horse riders to obstruct the Pandavas; Under Yudhisthira's leadership, the Pandavas emerged victorious, tackling the horse riders; Seeing this, Duryodhana sends Shalya; Bhima, Nakula, and Sahadeva rush to support Yudhisthira.
sañjaya uvāca॥
Sanjaya said:
dṛṣṭvā bhīṣmaṃ raṇe kruddhaṃ pāṇḍavairabhisaṃvṛtam। yathā meghairmahārāja tapānte divi bhāskaram ॥6-101-1॥
O great king, having seen Bhishma angry and surrounded by the Pandavas in battle, it was like the sun being enveloped by clouds in the sky at the end of summer.
duryodhano mahārāja duḥśāsanamabhāṣata। eṣa śūro maheṣvāso bhīṣmaḥ śatruniṣūdanaḥ ॥6-101-2॥
King Duryodhana addressed Duḥśāsana, pointing out that Bhīṣma, the valiant and mighty archer, is their formidable enemy destroyer.
chāditaḥ pāṇḍavaiḥ śūraiḥ samantādbharatarṣabha। tasya kāryaṃ tvayā vīra rakṣaṇaṃ sumahātmanaḥ ॥6-101-3॥
O best of the Bharatas, surrounded on all sides by the heroic Pāṇḍavas, it is your duty, O hero, to protect the great soul.
rakṣyamāṇo hi samare bhīṣmo'smākaṃ pitāmahaḥ। nihanyātsamare yattānpāñcālānpāṇḍavaiḥ saha ॥6-101-4॥
Our grandfather Bhishma, being protected in battle, would indeed slay the striving Panchalas along with the Pandavas.
tatra kāryam ahaṃ manye bhīṣmasyaivābhirakṣaṇam। goptā hyeṣa maheṣvāso bhīṣmo'smākaṃ pitāmahaḥ ॥6-101-5॥
I believe that our primary duty there is to protect Bhishma, as he is our grandfather and a great archer.
sa bhavān sarvasainyena parivārya pitāmaham। samare duṣkaraṃ karma kurvāṇaṃ parirakṣatu ॥6-101-6॥
You, along with all the army, should surround and protect the grandfather as he performs the difficult task in battle.
evamuktastu samare putro duḥśāsanastava। parivārya sthito bhīṣmaṃ sainyena mahatā vṛtaḥ ॥6-101-7॥
Thus addressed in the battle, your son Duḥśāsana, surrounded by a great army, stood covering Bhīṣma.
tataḥ śatasahasreṇa hayānāṃ subalātmajaḥ। vimalaprāsahastānāmṛṣṭitomaradhāriṇām ॥6-101-8॥
Then, the son of Subala, accompanied by a hundred thousand horses, all equipped with spotless spears and polished javelins, advanced.
darpitānāṃ suvegānāṃ balasthānāṃ patākinām। śikṣitairyuddhakuśalairupetānāṃ narottamaiḥ ॥6-101-9॥
The arrogant and swift warriors, stationed at strongholds and bearing flags, were accompanied by the best of men, trained and skilled in warfare.
nakulaṁ sahadevaṁ ca dharmarājaṁ ca pāṇḍavam। nyavārayannaraśreṣṭhaṁ parivārya samantataḥ ॥6-101-10॥
Nakula, Sahadeva, and Dharmaraja, the Pandava, surrounded and restrained the best of men from all sides.
tato duryodhano rājā śūrāṇāṃ hayasādinām। ayutaṃ preṣayāmāsa pāṇḍavānāṃ nivāraṇe ॥6-101-11॥
Then King Duryodhana dispatched ten thousand skilled horse riders to obstruct the Pandavas.
taiḥ praviṣṭairmahāvegairgarutmadbhirivāhave। khurāhatā dharā rājaṃścakampe ca nanāda ca ॥6-101-12॥
As they entered the battlefield with great speed, like Garuda, the earth, struck by their hooves, trembled and roared, O king.
khuraśabdaśca sumahānvājināṃ śuśruve tadā। mahāvaṃśavanasyeva dahyamānasya parvate ॥6-101-13॥
The sound of the horses' hooves was heard then, resembling the sound of a great bamboo forest burning on the mountain.
utpatadbhiśca taistatra samuddhūtaṃ mahadrajaḥ। divākarapathaṃ prāpya chādayāmāsa bhāskaram ॥6-101-14॥
A great dust was raised by those flying there, and it covered the sun as it reached the sun's path.
vegavadbhirhayaisthaistu kṣobhitaṃ pāṇḍavaṃ balam। nipatadbhirmahāvegairhaṃsairiva mahatsaraḥ ॥ heṣatāṃ caiva śabdena na prājñāyata kiñcana ॥6-101-15॥
The Pandava army was thrown into disarray by the swift horses, resembling swans descending rapidly onto a vast lake. The sound of neighing was so overwhelming that nothing else could be perceived.
tato yudhiṣṭhiro rājā mādrīputrau ca pāṇḍavau। pratyaghnamstarasā vegaṃ samare hayasādinām ॥6-101-16॥
Then King Yudhishthira and the sons of Madri, the Pandavas, fiercely countered the speed of the horse riders in battle.
udvṛttasya mahārāja prāvṛṭkālena pūryataḥ। paurṇamāsyām ambuvegaṃ yathā velā mahodadheḥ ॥6-101-17॥
O great king, during the rainy season, the shore of the great ocean is filled by the force of water, especially on the full moon day.
tataste rathino rājanśaraiḥ saṁnataparvabhiḥ। nyakṛntannuttamāṅgāni kāyebhyo hayasādinām ॥6-101-18॥
Then, O king, the charioteers used their arrows to skillfully decapitate the horsemen.
te nipetur mahārāja nihatā dṛḍhadhanvibhiḥ। nāgair iva mahānāgā yathā syur girigahvare ॥6-101-19॥
O great king, they fell, struck down by the strong archers, just as great elephants might fall in a mountain cave.
te'pi prāsaiḥ suniśitaiḥ śaraiḥ saṁnataparvabhiḥ। nyakṛntannuttamāṅgāni vicaranto diśo daśa ॥6-101-20॥
They too moved around in all ten directions, cutting off heads with their well-sharpened spears and arrows with bent joints.
atyāsannā hayārohā ṛṣṭibhirbharatarṣabha। acchinanuttamāṅgāni phalānīva mahādrumāt ॥6-101-21॥
The horse riders, being very close, O esteemed Bharata, cut off the heads with their spears as if they were plucking fruits from a great tree.
sasādino hayā rājanstatra tatra niṣūditāḥ। patitāḥ pātyamānāśca śataśo'tha sahasraśaḥ ॥6-101-22॥
O king, horses with riders were slain everywhere, falling and being struck down in hundreds and thousands.
vadhyamānā hayāste tu prādravanta bhayārditāḥ। yathā siṃhānsamāsādya mṛgāḥ prāṇaparāyaṇāḥ ॥6-101-23॥
The horses, being attacked, fled in fear, just like deer who, upon encountering lions, are solely focused on preserving their lives.
pāṇḍavāstu mahārāja jitvā śatrūnmahāhave। dadhmuḥ śaṅkhāṃśca bherīśca tāḍayāmāsurāhave ॥6-101-24॥
The Pandavas, having emerged victorious in the great battle, celebrated by blowing conches and beating drums, O great king.
tato duryodhano dṛṣṭvā dīnaṃ sainyamavasthitam। abravīdbharataśreṣṭha madrarājamidaṃ vacaḥ ॥6-101-25॥
Then Duryodhana, observing the distressed state of the army, addressed the king of Madra with these words, O esteemed descendant of Bharata.
eṣa pāṇḍusuto jyeṣṭho jitvā mātula māmakān। paśyatāṃ no mahābāho senāṃ drāvayate balī ॥6-101-26॥
The eldest son of Pandu, having defeated my maternal uncle and my people, is now driving away our army in full view, O mighty-armed one.
taṁ vāraya mahābāho veleva makarālayam। tvaṁ hi saṁśrūyase'tyarthamasahyabalavikramaḥ ॥6-101-27॥
O mighty-armed one, restrain him like the shore restrains the abode of crocodiles. You are renowned for your immense and unparalleled strength and valor.
putrasya tava tadvākyaṃ śrutvā śalyaḥ pratāpavān। prayayau rathavaṃśena yatra rājā yudhiṣṭhiraḥ ॥6-101-28॥
Upon hearing the words of your son, the mighty Shalya set off with his chariot entourage to the place where King Yudhishthira was.
tadāpatadvai sahasā śalyasya sumahadbalam। mahaughavegaṃ samare vārayāmāsa pāṇḍavaḥ ॥6-101-29॥
Suddenly, the mighty force of Śalya attacked, but the Pāṇḍava managed to check it in the battle, like holding back a great flood.
madrarājaṃ ca samare dharmarājo mahārathaḥ। daśabhiḥ sāyakaistūrṇamājaghāna stanāntare ॥ nakulaḥ sahadevaśca tribhistribhirajihmagaiḥ ॥6-101-30॥
In the battle, Dharmaraja, the great chariot warrior, swiftly struck the Madra king in the chest with ten arrows. Nakula and Sahadeva also attacked with three straight-shooting arrows each.
madrarājo'pi tānsarvānājaghāna tribhistribhiḥ। yudhiṣṭhiraṃ punaḥ ṣaṣṭyā vivyādha niśitaiḥ śaraiḥ ॥ mādrīputrau ca saṃrabdhau dvābhyāṃ dvābhyāmatāḍayat ॥6-101-31॥
The king of Madra attacked all of them with three arrows each. He then targeted Yudhishthira with sixty sharp arrows. Additionally, he struck the eager sons of Madri with two arrows each.
tato bhīmo mahābāhur dṛṣṭvā rājānam āhave। madrarājavaśaṃ prāptaṃ mṛtyor āsyagataṃ yathā॥ abhyadravata saṅgrāme yudhiṣṭhiram amitrajit॥ 6-101-32॥
Then Bhima, the mighty-armed, saw the king in battle, who was under the control of the king of Madra and seemed as if he was in the jaws of death, and rushed towards Yudhishthira, the conqueror of foes, in the battle.
tato yuddhaṃ mahāghoraṃ prāvartata sudāruṇam। aparāṃ diśamāsthāya dyotamāne divākare ॥6-101-33॥
Then, a very terrible and extremely fierce battle began in another direction as the sun was shining.
