Shloka 66
Chapter 51: Saṃdhyākāla-saṃhāra
Evening Withdrawal after Arjuna’s Counter-Advance
सौभद्रे भीमसेने च सात्यकौ च महारथे,पाण्डवपक्षकी ओरसे सुभद्राकुमार अभिमन्यु, भीमसेन, महारथी सात्यकि, केकयराजकुमार, राजा विराट तथा ट्रुपदपुत्र धृष्टद्यम्न--ये पुरुषसिंह और चेदि एवं मत्स्यदेशके क्षत्रिय युद्ध कर रहे थे। कुरुकुलके वृद्ध पुरुष पितामह भीष्मने इन सबपर बाणोंकी वर्षा प्रारम्भ कर दी
saubhadre bhīmasene ca sātyakau ca mahārathe | pāṇḍavapakṣakī orase subhadrākumāra abhimanyuḥ bhīmasenaḥ mahārathī sātyakiḥ kekayarājakumāraḥ rājā virāṭaḥ tathā drupadaputraḥ dhṛṣṭadyumnaḥ—ete puruṣasiṃhāś ca cedī-matsyadeśasya kṣatriyā yuddhaṃ kurvanti sma | kurukulavṛddhaḥ pitāmahaḥ bhīṣmaḥ etān sarvān prati bāṇavarṣaṃ prārabhata ||
Sañjaya berkata: Di pihak Pāṇḍava ada Abhimanyu putera Subhadrā, Bhīmasena, Sātyaki sang maharatha, putera raja Kekaya, Raja Virāṭa, serta Dhṛṣṭadyumna putera Drupada—para lelaki laksana singa ini, bersama para Kṣatriya dari Cedi dan Matsya, sedang bertempur. Maka Bhīṣma, grandsire tua dari keturunan Kuru, pun mula menghujani mereka semua dengan panah bagaikan hujan lebat.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse foregrounds kṣatriya-dharma in practice: renowned warriors on the Pāṇḍava side stand together in battle, and Bhīṣma—though aged and revered—fulfills his chosen duty as commander by meeting them with full martial force. It highlights how personal bonds and reverence do not suspend one’s role-bound obligations in war.
Sanjaya lists key Pāṇḍava-aligned fighters (Abhimanyu, Bhīma, Sātyaki, the Kekaya prince, Virāṭa, Dhṛṣṭadyumna, and allied Cedi and Matsya Kṣatriyas) actively fighting. Bhīṣma then initiates a concentrated counterattack, described as a ‘shower of arrows’ directed at all of them.