Shloka 16
Bhagadattā’s Deployment Against Ghaṭotkaca; Elephant-Corps Escalation
पाण्डवं चित्रसंनाहा विचित्रकवचधध्वजा: । अभ्यद्रवन्त संग्रामे योद्धुकामारिमर्दना:,आदित्यकेतु, बह्नाशी, कुण्डधार, महोदर, अपराजित, पण्डितक और अत्यन्त दुर्जय वीर विशालाक्ष--ये सातों शत्रुमर्दन भाई विचित्र वेशभूषासे सुसज्जित हो विचित्र कवच और ध्वज धारण किये संग्राम-भूमिमें युद्धकी इच्छासे पाण्डुपुत्र भीमसेनपर टूट पड़े
sañjaya uvāca |
pāṇḍavaṁ citrasaṁnāhā vicitrakavacadhvajāḥ |
abhyadravanta saṅgrāme yoddhukāmārimardanāḥ ||
ādityaketuḥ bahnāśī kuṇḍadhāraḥ mahodaraḥ aparājitaḥ paṇḍitakaḥ atyanta-durjayo vīro viśālākṣa iti sapta śatrumardanā bhrātaraḥ vicitra-veśabhūṣā-susajjitā vicitra-kavaca-dhvaja-dhāriṇaḥ saṅgrāmabhūmau yuddhecchayā pāṇḍuputra-bhīmasenam abhyapatanta |
Sañjaya said: Adorned in striking battle-gear, bearing varied armor and banners, seven brothers—famed as enemy-crushers—rushed into the fight, eager for combat. Ādityaketu, Bahnāśī, Kuṇḍadhāra, Mahodara, Aparājita, Paṇḍitaka, and the exceedingly hard-to-defeat, mighty Viśālākṣa, splendidly dressed and equipped with distinctive mail and standards, surged across the battlefield with the intent to wage war against Bhīmasena, the son of Pāṇḍu.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how martial zeal and the pursuit of victory propel warriors into violence; it implicitly invites reflection on dharma in war—courage and duty operate within a larger moral crisis where each charge intensifies collective suffering.
Sañjaya reports that seven warrior-brothers—Ādityaketu and the others—splendidly armed and bannered, charge into the battle and rush to attack Bhīmasena, the Pāṇḍava hero, driven by the desire to fight.