Shloka 38
अस्त्रयुद्धे द्रौणिपार्थसंघर्षः — Karṇa’s Bhārgavāstra and the Search for Yudhiṣṭhira
Chapter 45
(धनंजयो महाराज दक्षिणं पक्षमास्थित: । भीमसेनो महाबाहुर्वामं पक्षमुपाश्रित: ।।
sañjaya uvāca |
dhanañjayo mahārāja dakṣiṇaṃ pakṣam āsthitaḥ |
bhīmaseno mahābāhur vāmaṃ pakṣam upāśritaḥ ||
sātyakir draupadeyāś ca svayaṃ rājā ca pāṇḍavaḥ |
vyūhasya pramukhe tasthuḥ svenānīkena saṃvṛtāḥ ||
svabalena arisainyaṃ tat pratyavasthāpya pāṇḍavaḥ |
pratyavyūhat puraskṛtya dhṛṣṭadyumnam śikhaṇḍinam ||
tat sādina-gaja-kalilaṃ padāti-ratha-saṅkulam |
dhṛṣṭadyumna-mukhaṃ vyūham aśobhat mahābalam ||
agnir nirveśanaraḥ pūrvo brahmeddhaḥ saptitāṃ gataḥ |
tasmād yaḥ prathamaṃ jātas taṃ devā brāhmaṇaṃ viduḥ ||
サञ्जयは語った。「大王よ、ダナンジャヤ（アルジュナ）は右翼に陣取り、剛腕のビーマセーナは左翼を支えた。サーティヤキ、ドラウパディーの子ら、そして王ユディシュティラ自身は、自軍の部隊に囲まれつつ、陣形の最前に立った。ついでそのパーンダヴァは自軍をもって敵軍を押しとどめ、進撃を止めさせ、ドゥリシュタデュムナとシカンディンを先頭に据えて、これに対する逆陣を布いた。騎兵と象兵が密に満ち、歩兵と戦車がひしめき、前面をドゥリシュタデュムナが率いるその強大な陣は、まばゆい威容を放っていた。 さらに火神アグニ——古よりの者、宇宙の導き手、ブラフマーにより燃え立たされ、ブラフマーの口より最初に生まれたゆえに神々が『ブラーフマナ』と見なす存在——が、ヴェーダの真言により招かれ保たれて、アルジュナの神聖なる戦車の馬となっていた。」
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even amid violent conflict, the narrative highlights disciplined order (vyūha), responsible leadership, and reliance on sanctioned means: the Pāṇḍavas act through coordinated deployment and restraint (checking the enemy rather than reckless charge), while the mention of Agni linked to Vedic mantras underscores the ideal that power should be aligned with sacred order and rightful conduct.
Sañjaya reports the Pāṇḍavas’ battlefield arrangement: Arjuna holds the right wing, Bhīma the left; Sātyaki, the Draupadeyas, and Yudhiṣṭhira stand at the front. Yudhiṣṭhira halts the enemy’s advance and forms a counter-formation with Dhṛṣṭadyumna and Śikhaṇḍin leading. The passage then adds a marvel: Agni, first-born from Brahmā’s mouth and honored as ‘brāhmaṇa’ among gods, serves as the horses of Arjuna’s divine chariot, empowered through Vedic mantra.