Shloka 66
Chapter 51: Saṃdhyākāla-saṃhāra
Evening Withdrawal after Arjuna’s Counter-Advance
सौभद्रे भीमसेने च सात्यकौ च महारथे
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 ||
Wika ni Sañjaya: Sa panig ng mga Pāṇḍava ay naroon si Abhimanyu na anak ni Subhadrā, si Bhīmasena, ang dakilang mandirigmang-karwahe na si Sātyaki, ang prinsipe ng Kekaya, si Haring Virāṭa, at si Dhṛṣṭadyumna na anak ni Drupada—mga lalaking tulad ng leon; kasama pa ang mga Kṣatriya ng Cedi at Matsya, sila’y nakikipagdigma. Noon, si Bhīṣma, ang matandang pitāmaha ng angkan ng Kuru, ay nagsimulang magpaulan ng mga palaso sa kanilang lahat.
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.