Shloka 4
भूरिश्रवा: शल: कर्णो वृषसेनो जयद्रथ: । कृपश्च मद्रराजश्च द्रौणिश्व रथिनां वर:,भूरिश्रवा, शल, कर्ण, वृषसेन, जयद्रथ, कृपाचार्य, मद्रराज शल्य तथा रथियोंमें श्रेष्ठ अश्वत्थामा--ये आठ महारथी व्याप्रचर्मद्वारा आच्छादित तथा सुवर्णमय चन्द्रचिह्रोंसे विभूषित अअश्वोंद्वागा आकाशको पीते हुए-से दसों दिशाओंको सुशोभित कर रहे थे
sañjaya uvāca |
bhūriśravāḥ śalaḥ karṇo vṛṣaseno jayadrathaḥ |
kṛpaś ca madrarājaś ca drauṇiś ca rathināṃ varaḥ ||
Sañjaya said: Bhūriśravas, Śala, Karṇa, Vṛṣasena, Jayadratha, Kṛpa, the king of Madra (Śalya), and Droṇa’s son Aśvatthāmā—foremost among chariot-warriors—were the leading champions. Their martial splendour and readiness for battle marked the Kaurava host’s gathered might and foreshadowed the grave ethical cost of a war driven by loyalty, vengeance, and ambition.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse functions as a moral-narrative marker: it highlights how immense martial excellence can be gathered in service of contested aims. In the Mahābhārata’s ethical frame, prowess (śaurya) is not automatically dharma; the same heroic qualities can uphold justice or intensify adharma depending on intention, allegiance, and conduct.
Sañjaya enumerates prominent Kaurava-aligned chariot-warriors in Droṇa Parva, emphasizing the formidable concentration of fighters—Karṇa, his son Vṛṣasena, Jayadratha, Kṛpa, Śalya, Aśvatthāmā, and others—who are poised for major engagements in the ongoing Kurukṣetra war.