Shloka 3
अथ तव रथमुख्यास्तान् प्रतीयुस्त्वरन्तः कृपह्नदिकसुतौ च द्रौणिदुर्योधनौ च । शकुनिसुतवृकौ च क्राथदेवावृधौ च द्विदजलदघोषै: स्यन्दनै: कार्मुकैश्व
atha tava rathamukhyās tān pratīyus tvarantaḥ kṛpaḥ hārdikasutaś ca drauṇiḥ duryodhanaś ca | śakunisuta ulūkaś ca vṛkaś ca krāthadevaś ca devāvṛdhaś ca dvidajaladaghoṣaiḥ syandanaiḥ kārmukaiś ca ||
Sañjaya sprach: Dann eilten deine vornehmsten Wagenkämpfer heran—Kṛpa, Kṛtavarman, der Sohn Hārdikas, Aśvatthāman, der Sohn Droṇas, und Duryodhana; dazu Ulūka, der Sohn Śakunis, sowie Vṛka, Krāthadeva und Devāvṛdha. Auf Wagen, deren Dröhnen dem Brüllen von Elefanten und dem Donnern von Gewitterwolken glich, und mit den Bögen in den Händen, rückten sie vor, um den Helden der Pāṇḍavas entgegenzutreten.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the war-ethic of the epic: warriors, bound by allegiance and kṣatriya codes, rush into confrontation with great energy. Yet the grandeur of martial display (roaring chariots, raised bows) sits alongside the Mahābhārata’s larger moral tension—courage and duty can be exercised even in a conflict whose righteousness is contested.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that leading Kaurava-side chariot-warriors—Kṛpa, Kṛtavarman, Aśvatthāman, Duryodhana, and others—swiftly advance in loud, formidable chariots with bows in hand to meet the Pāṇḍava fighters on the battlefield.