Shloka 3
अथ तव रथमुख्यास्तान् प्रतीयुस्त्वरन्तः कृपह्नदिकसुतौ च द्रौणिदुर्योधनौ च । शकुनिसुतवृकौ च क्राथदेवावृधौ च द्विदजलदघोषै: स्यन्दनै: कार्मुकैश्व
atha tava rathamukhyās tān pratīyus tvarantaḥ kṛpaḥ hārdikasutaś ca drauṇiḥ duryodhanaś ca | śakunisuta ulūkaś ca vṛkaś ca krāthadevaś ca devāvṛdhaś ca dvidajaladaghoṣaiḥ syandanaiḥ kārmukaiś ca ||
Sañjaya berkata: Kemudian para pahlawan kereta perang tuanku yang terkemuka segera mara—Kṛpa, Kṛtavarman putera Hārdika, Aśvatthāman putera Droṇa, dan Duryodhana; serta Ulūka putera Śakuni, bersama Vṛka, Krāthadeva, dan Devāvṛdha. Berada di atas kereta yang mengaum seperti gajah dan awan guruh, sambil memegang busur, mereka maju untuk berhadapan dengan para wira Pāṇḍava.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the war-ethic of the epic: warriors, bound by allegiance and kṣatriya codes, rush into confrontation with great energy. Yet the grandeur of martial display (roaring chariots, raised bows) sits alongside the Mahābhārata’s larger moral tension—courage and duty can be exercised even in a conflict whose righteousness is contested.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that leading Kaurava-side chariot-warriors—Kṛpa, Kṛtavarman, Aśvatthāman, Duryodhana, and others—swiftly advance in loud, formidable chariots with bows in hand to meet the Pāṇḍava fighters on the battlefield.