Shloka 66
Chapter 51: Saṃdhyākāla-saṃhāra
Evening Withdrawal after Arjuna’s Counter-Advance
सौभद्रे भीमसेने च सात्यकौ च महारथे
saubhadre bhīmasene ca sātyakau ca mahārathe | pāṇḍavapakṣakī orase subhadrākumāra abhimanyuḥ bhīmasenaḥ mahārathī sātyakiḥ kekayarājakumāraḥ rājā virāṭaḥ tathā drupadaputraḥ dhṛṣṭadyumnaḥ—ete puruṣasiṃhāś ca cedī-matsyadeśasya kṣatriyā yuddhaṃ kurvanti sma | kurukulavṛddhaḥ pitāmahaḥ bhīṣmaḥ etān sarvān prati bāṇavarṣaṃ prārabhata ||
Sanjaya said: On the Pāṇḍava side, Abhimanyu the son of Subhadrā, Bhīmasena, the great chariot-warrior Sātyaki, the prince of Kekaya, King Virāṭa, and Drupada’s son Dhṛṣṭadyumna—these lion-like men, along with the Kṣatriyas of Cedi and Matsya, were engaged in battle. Then the aged grandsire of the Kuru line, Bhīṣma, began to shower arrows upon them all.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse foregrounds kṣatriya-dharma in practice: renowned warriors on the Pāṇḍava side stand together in battle, and Bhīṣma—though aged and revered—fulfills his chosen duty as commander by meeting them with full martial force. It highlights how personal bonds and reverence do not suspend one’s role-bound obligations in war.
Sanjaya lists key Pāṇḍava-aligned fighters (Abhimanyu, Bhīma, Sātyaki, the Kekaya prince, Virāṭa, Dhṛṣṭadyumna, and allied Cedi and Matsya Kṣatriyas) actively fighting. Bhīṣma then initiates a concentrated counterattack, described as a ‘shower of arrows’ directed at all of them.