Shloka 80
(तथा च तव सैन्यानि तापयामासुरोजसा । शरैरशनिसंकाशै: पाण्डवाश्षैतरे नृपा: ।।
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 berkata: “Demikianlah, dengan kekuatan yang dahsyat, para Pāṇḍava dan raja-raja lain menyeksa bala tentera tuanku dengan anak panah laksana halilintar. Di sana kami menyaksikan keberanian Pāṇḍava yang menakjubkan: dengan hujan panah mereka memaksa lari semua pahlawan yang mengikuti jejak Bhīṣma. Kami gentar akan Dhanañjaya, putera Kuntī, yang berkereta kuda putih.”
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.