Shloka 53
भीष्मस्य सेनापत्यप्रतिज्ञा तथा रथसंख्यावर्णनम् | Bhishma Accepts Command and Enumerates Kaurava Strength
नकुलस्य विराटस्य द्रुपदस्य च भारत । सहदेवस्य च वचो धृष्टद्युम्मशिखण्डिनो: । केशवार्जुनयोर्वाक्यं यथोक्तं सर्वमब्रवीत्,भारत! फिर उसने नकुल, सहदेव, विराट, ट्रुपद, धृष्टद्युम्न, शिखण्डी, भगवान् श्रीकृष्ण तथा अर्जुनके भी सारे वचनोंको ज्यों-का-त्यों कह दिया
sañjaya uvāca |
nakulasya virāṭasya drupadasya ca bhārata |
sahadevasya ca vaco dhṛṣṭadyumnaśikhaṇḍinoḥ |
keśavārjunayor vākyaṃ yathoktaṃ sarvam abravīt |
Sañjaya said: O Bhārata, he repeated exactly as spoken the words of Nakula and Sahadeva, of Virāṭa and Drupada, of Dhṛṣṭadyumna and Śikhaṇḍin, and also the statements of Keśava (Kṛṣṇa) and Arjuna—leaving nothing out and altering nothing.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights fidelity to truth in transmission: a messenger or narrator should convey others’ words exactly (yathoktam), without distortion—an ethical duty especially crucial in diplomacy and conflict.
Sañjaya describes how the speaker (in context, a reporter/messenger) recounted verbatim the statements made by key Pāṇḍava allies and leaders—Nakula, Sahadeva, Virāṭa, Drupada, Dhṛṣṭadyumna, Śikhaṇḍin—as well as Kṛṣṇa and Arjuna.