Shloka 52

भीष्मस्य जलप्रार्थना — अर्जुनस्य पर्जन्यास्त्रप्रयोगः — दुर्योधनं प्रति सन्ध्युपदेशः

Bhīṣma’s request for water; Arjuna’s Parjanya-astra; counsel to Duryodhana on reconciliation

Devanagari script

तच्छुत्वा वचन तस्य त्रैगर्त: प्रस्थलाधिप: । अभिद्र॒ुत्य रणे भीममर्जुनं चैव धन्विनौ

Transliteration

sañjaya uvāca |

tac chrutvā vacanaṃ tasya traigartaḥ prasthalādhipaḥ |

abhidhṛtya raṇe bhīmam arjunaṃ caiva dhanvinau ||

Translation

Sañjaya dit : Entendant ces paroles, le chef des Trigartas —seigneur de Prasthala— se précipita sur le champ de bataille et, avec des milliers de chars, encercla de toutes parts les deux archers, Bhīma et Arjuna. Alors Arjuna s’engagea dans un combat âpre et périlleux contre l’armée ennemie.

Word by Word

• {'sañjaya uvāca': 'Sañjaya said', 'tat': 'that', 'śrutvā': 'having heard', 'vacanam': 'speech, statement, command', 'tasya': 'of him, his', 'traigartaḥ': 'the Trigarta (king/warrior of the Trigartas)', 'prasthala-adhipaḥ': 'lord/ruler of Prasthala', 'abhidhṛtya (≈ abhidhāvya/abhidrutya)': 'rushing upon, charging at', 'raṇe': 'in battle, on the battlefield', 'bhīmam': 'Bhīma', 'arjunam': 'Arjuna', 'ca eva': 'and indeed/also', 'dhanvinau': 'the two archers, bow-bearing warriors (dual)', 'parivārya (implied by context)': 'having surrounded', 'anekaiḥ sahasraiḥ rathaiḥ (implied by context)': 'with many thousands of chariots'}

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Trigarta (people/king)
• Prasthala
• Bhīma
• Arjuna
• chariots (ratha)
• battlefield (raṇa)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the kṣatriya context of dharma in war: leaders respond to commands and battlefield developments with decisive action, and the foremost warriors must meet concentrated aggression with steadiness and courage rather than retreating from duty.

What is happening in the narrative?

After hearing an instruction (from his side’s leadership), the Trigarta ruler (identified in the tradition as Suśarman), lord of Prasthala, charges and arranges a mass chariot encirclement around Bhīma and Arjuna, triggering an intense clash—especially for Arjuna—against the surrounding enemy forces.