Shloka 76
प्राच्याश्न सौवीरगणाश्ष सर्वे वसातय: क्षुद्रकमालवाश्नव । किरीटिनं त्वरमाणा5भिसखु- निदिशगा: शान्तनवस्य राज्ञ:,तब द्रोण, विकर्ण, जयद्रथ, भूरिश्रवा, कृतवर्मा, कृपाचार्य, श्रुतायु, राजा अम्बष्ठपति, विन्द, अनुविन्द, सुदक्षिण, पूर्वीय नरेशगण, सौवीरदेशीय क्षत्रियगण, वसाति, क्षुद्रक और मालवगण--ये सभी शानानुनन्दन भीष्मकी आज्ञाके अनुसार चलते हुए तुरंत ही किरीटधारी अर्जुनका सामना करनेके लिये निकट चले आये
sañjaya uvāca |
prācyāś ca sauvīragaṇāś ca sarve vasātayaḥ kṣudrakamālavāś ca |
kirīṭinaṃ tvaramāṇābhisakhyā nidiśagāḥ śāntanavasya rājñaḥ ||
Sañjaya said: The eastern kings, the warriors of the Sauvīra country, the Vasātis, the Kṣudrakas, and the Mālavas—all of them, acting in swift concert and moving at once in the indicated direction under the command of King Bhīṣma, the son of Śāntanu—hurried forward to confront Arjuna, the diadem-wearing hero. The scene underscores the disciplined obedience of allied forces to their commander in the moral tension of war, where duty to one’s side drives immediate action against a renowned opponent.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights disciplined adherence to command in wartime: allied kṣatriya groups act swiftly under Bhīṣma’s direction to meet a formidable foe. It reflects the Mahābhārata’s recurring tension between loyalty to one’s side and the grave ethical weight of violent duty.
Sanjaya reports that multiple regional/tribal contingents—easterners, Sauvīras, Vasātis, Kṣudrakas, and Mālavas—advance quickly, following Bhīṣma’s orders, to confront Arjuna (called Kirīṭin, ‘the diadem-wearer’).