Shloka 3
अथ तव रथमुख्यास्तान् प्रतीयुस्त्वरन्तः कृपह्नदिकसुतौ च द्रौणिदुर्योधनौ च । शकुनिसुतवृकौ च क्राथदेवावृधौ च द्विदजलदघोषै: स्यन्दनै: कार्मुकैश्व,तदनन्तर कृपाचार्य, कृतवर्मा, अश्वत्थामा, दुर्योधन, शकुनिपुत्र उलूक, वृक, क्राथ और देवावृध--ये आपके प्रमुख महारथी बड़ी उतावलीके साथ धनुष लिये हाथी और मेघोंके समान शब्द करनेवाले रथोंपर आरूढ़ हो उन पाण्डववीरोंका सामना करनेके लिये आ पहुँचे
atha tava rathamukhyās tān pratīyus tvarantaḥ kṛpaḥ hārdikasutaś ca drauṇiḥ duryodhanaś ca | śakunisuta ulūkaś ca vṛkaś ca krāthadevaś ca devāvṛdhaś ca dvidajaladaghoṣaiḥ syandanaiḥ kārmukaiś ca ||
Sañjaya said: Then your foremost chariot-warriors hurried forward—Kṛpa, Hārdikaputra Kṛtavarman, Droṇa’s son Aśvatthāman, and Duryodhana; and also Śakuni’s son Ulūka, along with Vṛka, Krāthadeva, and Devāvṛdha. Mounted on chariots whose roar was like that of elephants and thunderclouds, and bearing their bows, they advanced to confront the Pāṇḍava heroes.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the war-ethic of the epic: warriors, bound by allegiance and kṣatriya codes, rush into confrontation with great energy. Yet the grandeur of martial display (roaring chariots, raised bows) sits alongside the Mahābhārata’s larger moral tension—courage and duty can be exercised even in a conflict whose righteousness is contested.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that leading Kaurava-side chariot-warriors—Kṛpa, Kṛtavarman, Aśvatthāman, Duryodhana, and others—swiftly advance in loud, formidable chariots with bows in hand to meet the Pāṇḍava fighters on the battlefield.