Shloka 6

अर्जुनस्य गुरुधर्मविलापः तथा शैनेयकर्णयोर्युद्धारम्भः | Arjuna’s Lament on Guru-Dharma and the Opening of the Sātyaki–Karṇa Duel

Devanagari script

वृषभस्कन्धविक्रान्तो वृषभाक्षो नरर्षभ: । तावकानां बभौ मध्ये गवां मध्ये यथा वृष:

Transliteration

vṛṣabhaskandhavikrānto vṛṣabhākṣo nararṣabhaḥ | tāvakānāṃ babhau madhye gavāṃ madhye yathā vṛṣaḥ ||

Translation

Sañjaya berkata: Dengan kekuatan bahu laksana banteng, bermata banteng, sang terbaik di antara manusia itu tampak menonjol di tengah pasukanmu—seperti seekor banteng berdiri di antara kawanan sapi.

Word by Word

वृषभस्कन्धविक्रान्तःhe whose prowess is like a bull-shouldered one / having bull-like shoulders and stride

वृषभाक्षःbull-eyed (having eyes like a bull)

नरर्षभःbull among men; best of men

तावकानाम्of your (Kaurava) men

बभौshone; appeared splendid

मध्येin the midst

गवाम्of cows; of cattle

मध्येin the midst

यथाas; like

वृषःa bull

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

tāvakāḥ (the Kaurava forces)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights how extraordinary prowess stands out unmistakably in a crowd: true strength and leadership become visible through presence and action, especially in the moral pressure-cooker of war.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes a foremost warrior on the Kaurava side appearing conspicuously powerful among the troops, using the simile of a bull among cows to convey dominance and battlefield confidence.