Shloka 6

शल्यवधे कौरवसेनाभङ्गः, भीमस्य गदायुद्धं, दुर्योधनस्य समाह्वानम्

Rout after Śalya’s fall; Bhīma’s mace engagement; Duryodhana’s rally

Devanagari script

मद्रराजप्रिये युक्तैर्मद्रकाणां महारथै: । आजगाम ततः: पार्थों गाण्डीवं विक्षिपन्‌ धनु:

Transliteration

madrarājapriye yuktair madrakāṇāṁ mahārathaiḥ | ājagāma tataḥ pārtho gāṇḍīvaṁ vikṣipan dhanuḥ ||

Translation

قال سنجيا: ثم تقدّم بارثا (أرجونا)، ومعه عظماءُ فرسانِ العَرَبات من المَدْرا المخلصون لملكهم؛ وبينما كان يُقبل كان يُلوّح بقوسه غانديفا—إشارةً إلى العزم والاستعداد في مواجهة الثقل الأخلاقي للقتال.

Word by Word

मद्रराजप्रियेin/at the dear (one) of the king of Madra

युक्तैःaccompanied/associated (with)

मद्रकाणाम्of the Madrakas

महारथैःwith great chariot-warriors

आजगामcame/arrived

ततःthen/from there

पार्थःPārtha (Arjuna)

गाण्डीवम्the Gāṇḍīva (bow)

विक्षिपन्brandishing/wielding

धनुःbow

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Pārtha (Arjuna)

Madra-rāja (king of Madra)

Madras (Madrakāḥ)

Gāṇḍīva

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights steadfastness in one’s appointed duty amid conflict: disciplined readiness (symbolized by Arjuna’s Gāṇḍīva) and the ethical seriousness of war, where loyalty and alliance must still be guided by dharma.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports that Arjuna advances into the fray, accompanied by the Madra king’s favored/loyal great chariot-warriors, while Arjuna brandishes his famed bow Gāṇḍīva as a sign of imminent engagement.