Shloka 1
/ ऑपन-माज बछ। जि घोडशो< ध्याय: वृषसेनका पराक्रम, कौरव-पाण्डववीरोंका तुमुल युद्ध, द्रोणाचार्यके द्वारा पाण्डवपक्षके अनेक वीरोंका वध तथा अर्जुनकी विजय संजय उवाच तद् बल॑ सुमहद् दीर्ण त्वदीयं प्रेक्ष्य वीर्यवान् । दधारैको रणे राजन् वृषसेनो<स्त्रमायया,संजय कहते हैं--महाराज! आपकी विशाल सेनाको तितर-बितर हुई देख एकमात्र पराक्रमी वृषसेनने अपने अस्त्रोंकी मायासे रणक्षेत्रमें उसे धारण किया (भागनेसे रोका)
sañjaya uvāca | tad balaṃ sumahat dīrṇaṃ tvadīyaṃ prekṣya vīryavān | dadhāraiko raṇe rājan vṛṣaseno 'stramāyayā ||
Sañjaya said: O King, seeing your vast army scattered and broken, the valiant Vṛṣasena alone held it together in the battle—by the strategic power and artifice of his weapons—preventing it from collapsing into flight.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even when a collective force loses cohesion, a single resolute leader can restore order through courage and tactical skill; the verse underscores battlefield responsibility (kṣatriya-dharma) and the ethical weight of sustaining one’s side despite fear and disorder.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that the Kaurava host has become scattered; at that moment Vṛṣasena, fighting alone with skilled weaponry and stratagem, steadies the army and prevents it from fleeing.