Shloka 76
Vāsudeva-Māhātmya: Duryodhana’s Inquiry and Bhīṣma’s Theological Account of Keśava
प्राच्याश्न सौवीरगणाश्ष सर्वे वसातय: क्षुद्रकमालवाश्नव । किरीटिनं त्वरमाणा5भिसखु- निदिशगा: शान्तनवस्य राज्ञ:
sañjaya uvāca |
prācyāś ca sauvīragaṇāś ca sarve vasātayaḥ kṣudrakamālavāś ca |
kirīṭinaṃ tvaramāṇābhisakhyā nidiśagāḥ śāntanavasya rājñaḥ ||
प्राच्याश्च सौवीरगणाश्च सर्वे वसातयः क्षुद्रकमालवाश्च । किरीटिनं त्वरमाणा अभिसख्युन् निदिश्यगा शान्तनवस्य राज्ञः ॥
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights disciplined adherence to command in wartime: allied kṣatriya groups act swiftly under Bhīṣma’s direction to meet a formidable foe. It reflects the Mahābhārata’s recurring tension between loyalty to one’s side and the grave ethical weight of violent duty.
Sanjaya reports that multiple regional/tribal contingents—easterners, Sauvīras, Vasātis, Kṣudrakas, and Mālavas—advance quickly, following Bhīṣma’s orders, to confront Arjuna (called Kirīṭin, ‘the diadem-wearer’).