Shloka 80
(तथा च तव सैन्यानि तापयामासुरोजसा । शरैरशनिसंकाशै: पाण्डवाश्षैतरे नृपा: ।। तत्राद्भुतमपश्याम पाण्डवानां पराक्रमम् । द्रावयामासुरिषुभि: सर्वान् भीष्मपदानुगान् ।।) पाण्डवों तथा अन्य राजाओंने वज्रके समान बाणोंद्वारा आपकी सेनाओंको बलपूर्वक पीड़ित किया। वहाँ हमने पाण्डवोंका यह अद्भुत पराक्रम देखा कि उन्होंने अपने बाणोंकी वर्षासे भीष्मका अनुगमन करनेवाले समस्त योद्धाओंको मार भगाया। वयं श्वेतहयाद् भीता: कुन्तीपुत्रादू धनंजयात्
sañjaya uvāca | tathā ca tava sainyāni tāpayāmāsur ojasā | śarair aśani-saṅkāśaiḥ pāṇḍavāś ca itare nṛpāḥ || tatrādbhutam apaśyāma pāṇḍavānāṃ parākramam | drāvayāmāsur iṣubhiḥ sarvān bhīṣma-padānugān || vayaṃ śveta-hayād bhītāḥ kuntī-putrād dhanañjayāt |
Sañjaya said: “And so, with sheer force, the Pāṇḍavas and the other kings tormented your armies with arrows like thunderbolts. There we witnessed an astonishing display of the Pāṇḍavas’ valor: by a rain of shafts they drove into flight all the warriors who were following in Bhīṣma’s wake. We were terrified of Dhanañjaya, Kuntī’s son, the one with the white horses.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage highlights how martial excellence and disciplined force can decisively shape battlefield morale: the Pāṇḍavas’ coordinated archery breaks the momentum of those aligned behind Bhīṣma. Ethically, it reflects kṣatriya-dharma in its stark form—duty expressed through courage, skill, and steadfastness amid fear.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that the Pāṇḍavas and their allied kings are striking the Kaurava forces with thunderbolt-like arrows. Their onslaught routs the warriors who are following Bhīṣma’s lead, and the speakers (Kaurava side) feel fear specifically of Arjuna, identified by his epithet Dhanañjaya and by his chariot’s white horses.