Bhishma Resolves to Kill or Be Killed

Verse 1 (6.109.1)

कथं शिखण्डी गाङ्गेयमभ्यधावत्पितामहम् । पाञ्चाल्यः समरे क्रुद्धो धर्मात्मानं यतव्रतम् ॥

kathaṃ śikhaṇḍī gāṅgeyamabhyadhāvatpitāmaham | pāñcālyaḥ samare kruddho dharmātmānaṃ yatavratam

How did Shikhandi of Panchala, in his fury, rush in battle upon the grandsire, the son of Ganga, righteous and firm in his vows?

Note on the text: Adhyaya note: checked against the raw Wikisource page (a table, one row per verse, 6-109-1 to 6-109-41, with headings धृतराष्ट्र उवाच before verse 1 and सञ्जय उवाच before verses 5, 24 and 32). This adhyaya is the critical edition's 6.105 (Duryodhana appeals to Bhishma; Bhishma's slaughter on the tenth day). Speeches without a printed heading that fill whole verses are given to their speakers: Duryodhana (16–23) and Bhishma (26–31); verse 25, which ends with the first words of Bhishma's reply, stays with the narrator. The page's backticked lines (verses 26 and 30) are printed as text, with the backticks and quote marks removed. From verse 24 to verse 28 Wikisource pairs the half-verses differently from the critical edition (whose 6.105.23 and 6.105.25 have three lines); the notes map the lines.

Verse 2 (6.109.2)

केऽरक्षन्पाण्डवानीके शिखण्डिनमुदायुधाः । त्वरमाणास्त्वराकाले जिगीषन्तो महारथाः ॥

ke'rakṣanpāṇḍavānīke śikhaṇḍinamudāyudhāḥ | tvaramāṇāstvarākāle jigīṣanto mahārathāḥ

Which great chariot-warriors in the Pandava host, with weapons raised, guarded Shikhandi, hastening at the hour that called for haste, eager for victory?

Verse 3 (6.109.3)

कथं शान्तनवो भीष्मः स तस्मिन्दशमेऽहनि । अयुध्यत महावीर्यः पाण्डवैः सह सृञ्जयैः ॥

kathaṃ śāntanavo bhīṣmaḥ sa tasmindaśame'hani | ayudhyata mahāvīryaḥ pāṇḍavaiḥ saha sṛñjayaiḥ

How did Bhishma son of Shantanu, of great valour, fight with the Pandavas and the Srinjayas on that tenth day?

Verse 4 (6.109.4)

न मृष्यामि रणे भीष्मं प्रत्युद्यातं शिखण्डिना । कच्चिन्न रथभङ्गोऽस्य धनुर्वाऽशीर्यतास्यतः ॥

na mṛṣyāmi raṇe bhīṣmaṃ pratyudyātaṃ śikhaṇḍinā | kaccinna rathabhaṅgo'sya dhanurvā'śīryatāsyataḥ

I cannot bear it that Bhishma was confronted in battle by Shikhandi. Surely his chariot was not wrecked, nor his bow shattered as he shot?

Note on the text: Corrected रथमद्गोऽस्व → रथभङ्गोऽस्य (misprint in Wikisource; broken aksharas, critical edition rathabhaṅgo 'sya) and वाऽशीर्यतास्थतः → वाऽशीर्यतास्यतः (misprint in Wikisource; थ for य, critical edition vāśīryatāsyataḥ). शिखण्डिना for śikhaṇḍinam kept as a variant.

Verse 5 (6.109.5)

नाशीर्यत धनुश्चास्य रथभङ्गो न चाप्यभूत् । युध्यमानस्य संग्रामे भीष्मस्य भरतर्षभ । निघ्नतः समरे शत्रून्शरैः सन्नतपर्वभिः ॥

nāśīryata dhanuścāsya rathabhaṅgo na cāpyabhūt | yudhyamānasya saṃgrāme bhīṣmasya bharatarṣabha | nighnataḥ samare śatrūnśaraiḥ sannataparvabhiḥ

His bow did not break, nor was his chariot wrecked, O bull of the Bharatas, as Bhishma fought in the battle, slaying his enemies with straight arrows.

Verse 6 (6.109.6)

अनेकशतसाहस्रास्तावकानां महारथाः । तथा दन्तिगणा राजन्हयाश्चैव सुसज्जिताः ॥

anekaśatasāhasrāstāvakānāṃ mahārathāḥ | tathā dantigaṇā rājanhayāścaiva susajjitāḥ

Many hundreds of thousands of your great chariot-warriors, and likewise hosts of elephants, O king, and well-equipped horses,

Note on the text: Corrected अनेकशतसाहस्रावकानां → अनेकशतसाहस्रास्तावकानां (misprint in Wikisource; the syllable स्त is lost and the metre falls short, critical edition anekaśatasāhasrās tāvakānāṃ), हायश्चैव → हयाश्चैव (misprint in Wikisource; a misplaced vowel sign, critical edition hayāś caiva) and सुसञ्जिताः → सुसज्जिताः (misprint in Wikisource; ञ्जि for ज्जि, critical edition susajjitāḥ). The alignment missed the verse because of these misprints: it is the critical edition's 6.105.6ab–cd (तथा दन्तिगणा for rathadantigaṇā, a variant), whose third line is printed on the page as its own verse 7.

Verse 7 (6.109.7)

अभ्यवर्तन्त युद्धाय पुरस्कृत्य पितामहम् ॥

abhyavartanta yuddhāya puraskṛtya pitāmaham

advanced to the fight with the grandsire at their head.

Note on the text: A single line on the page (row 7a, closed with its own verse mark): the critical edition's 6.105.6ef, the third line of the verse whose first two lines are verse 6. Nothing is lost.

Verse 8 (6.109.8)

यथाप्रतिज्ञं कौरव्य स चापि समितिंजयः । पार्थानामकरोद्भीष्मः सततं समिति क्षयम् ॥

yathāpratijñaṃ kauravya sa cāpi samitiṃjayaḥ | pārthānāmakarodbhīṣmaḥ satataṃ samiti kṣayam

As he had vowed, O Kauravya, Bhishma, conqueror in battle, wrought unceasing destruction on the Parthas in the fight.

Note on the text: Corrected समिर्तिजयः → समितिंजयः (misprint in Wikisource; a misplaced repha for the anusvara, critical edition samitiṃjayaḥ, as the page's own gloss reads it) and पार्यानाम् → पार्थानाम् (misprint in Wikisource; य for थ, critical edition pārthānām). समिति क्षयम् kept as printed: the page's gloss reads समिति as a locative ('in battle').

Verse 9 (6.109.9)

युध्यमानं महेष्वासं विनिघ्नन्तं पराञ्शरैः । पाञ्चालाः पाण्डवैः सार्धं सर्वतः पर्यवारयन् ॥

yudhyamānaṃ maheṣvāsaṃ vinighnantaṃ parāñśaraiḥ | pāñcālāḥ pāṇḍavaiḥ sārdhaṃ sarvataḥ paryavārayan

As that great archer fought on, slaying his foes with arrows, the Panchalas together with the Pandavas surrounded him on every side.

Note on the text: Corrected सार्ध → सार्धं (misprint in Wikisource; a dropped anusvara, critical edition sārdhaṃ). सर्वतः पर्यवारयन् for sarva evābhyavārayan kept as a variant.

Verse 10 (6.109.10)

दशमेऽहनि संप्राप्ते ततस्तां रिपुवाहिनीम् । कीर्यमाणां शितैर्बाणैः शतशोऽथ सहस्रशः ॥

daśame'hani saṃprāpte tatastāṃ ripuvāhinīm | kīryamāṇāṃ śitairbāṇaiḥ śataśo'tha sahasraśaḥ

When the tenth day came, that enemy host was strewn with his sharp arrows by the hundred and the thousand.

Note on the text: Line 1 (ततस्तां रिपुवाहिनीम्) differs from the critical edition's tatāpa ripuvāhinīm; kept as a recension variant.

Verse 11 (6.109.11)

न हि भीष्मं महेष्वासं पाण्डवाः पाण्डुपूर्वज । अशक्नुवन्रणे जेतुं पाशहस्तमिवान्तकम् ॥

na hi bhīṣmaṃ maheṣvāsaṃ pāṇḍavāḥ pāṇḍupūrvaja | aśaknuvanraṇe jetuṃ pāśahastamivāntakam

The Pandavas could no more conquer the great archer Bhishma in battle, O elder brother of Pandu, than Death with the noose in his hand.

Note on the text: Corrected पाशहस्तमिवानतकम् → पाशहस्तमिवान्तकम् (misprint in Wikisource; a broken conjunct, critical edition pāśahastam ivāntakam).

Verse 12 (6.109.12)

अथोपायान्महाराज सव्यसाची धनञ्जयः । त्रासयन्रथिनः सर्वान्बीभत्सुरपराजितः ॥

athopāyānmahārāja savyasācī dhanañjayaḥ | trāsayanrathinaḥ sarvānbībhatsuraparājitaḥ

Then, great king, Savyasachin Dhananjaya, Bibhatsu the unconquered, came up, terrifying all the chariot-fighters,

Verse 13 (6.109.13)

सिंहवद्विनदन्नुच्चैर्धनुर्ज्यां विक्षिपन्मुहुः । शरौघान्विसृजन्पार्थो व्यचरत्कालवद्रणे ॥

siṃhavadvinadannuccairdhanurjyāṃ vikṣipanmuhuḥ | śaraughānvisṛjanpārtho vyacaratkālavadraṇe

roaring loudly like a lion and twanging his bowstring again and again; loosing floods of arrows, the son of Pritha ranged over the battlefield like Time.

Verse 14 (6.109.14)

तस्य शब्देन वित्रस्तास्तावका भारतर्षभ । सिंहस्येव मृगा राजन्व्यद्रवन्त महाभयात् ॥

tasya śabdena vitrastāstāvakā bhāratarṣabha | siṃhasyeva mṛgā rājanvyadravanta mahābhayāt

Terrified by that sound, O bull of the Bharatas, your men fled in great fear, O king, as deer flee from a lion.

Verse 15 (6.109.15)

जयन्तं पाण्डवं दृष्ट्वा त्वत्सैन्यं चाभिपीडितम् । दुर्योधनस्ततो भीष्ममब्रवीद्भृशपीडितः ॥

jayantaṃ pāṇḍavaṃ dṛṣṭvā tvatsainyaṃ cābhipīḍitam | duryodhanastato bhīṣmamabravīdbhṛśapīḍitaḥ

Seeing the Pandava victorious and your army sorely pressed, Duryodhana, in great distress, then spoke to Bhishma:

Verse 16 (6.109.16)

एष पाण्डुसुतस्तात श्वेताश्वः कृष्णसारथिः । दहते मामकान्सर्वान्कृष्णवर्त्मेव काननम् ॥

eṣa pāṇḍusutastāta śvetāśvaḥ kṛṣṇasārathiḥ | dahate māmakānsarvānkṛṣṇavartmeva kānanam

Father, this son of Pandu with the white horses and Krishna for his charioteer is burning up all my men, as fire burns a forest.

Note on the text: Duryodhana's speech (16–23), without a printed heading on the page; the speaker is given as Duryodhana. Corrected कृष्णवर्त्मेन → कृष्णवर्त्मेव (misprint in Wikisource; न for व, critical edition kṛṣṇavartmeva).

Verse 17 (6.109.17)

पश्य सैन्यानि गाङ्गेय द्रवमाणानि सर्वशः । पाण्डवेन युधां श्रेष्ठ काल्यमानानि संयुगे ॥

paśya sainyāni gāṅgeya dravamāṇāni sarvaśaḥ | pāṇḍavena yudhāṃ śreṣṭha kālyamānāni saṃyuge

See, son of Ganga, best of warriors, how my troops are fleeing on every side, driven by the Pandava in the battle.

Note on the text: Corrected पण्डवेन → पाण्डवेन (misprint in Wikisource; a dropped vowel sign, critical edition pāṇḍavena).

Verse 18 (6.109.18)

यथा पशुगणान्पालः संकालयति कानने । तथेदं मामकं सैन्यं काल्यते शत्रुतापन ॥

yathā paśugaṇānpālaḥ saṃkālayati kānane | tathedaṃ māmakaṃ sainyaṃ kālyate śatrutāpana

As a herdsman drives his herds of cattle in the forest, so this army of mine is being driven, scorcher of foes.

Verse 19 (6.109.19)

धनञ्जयशरैर्भग्नं द्रवमाणं ततस्ततः । भीमोऽप्येवं दुराधर्षो विद्रावयति मे बलम् ॥

dhanañjayaśarairbhagnaṃ dravamāṇaṃ tatastataḥ | bhīmo'pyevaṃ durādharṣo vidrāvayati me balam

Broken by Dhananjaya's arrows, it runs this way and that; and Bhima too, hard to withstand, is putting my army to flight.

Note on the text: Corrected दुराधर्पो → दुराधर्षो (misprint in Wikisource; प for ष, critical edition durādharṣo). ततस्ततः for itas tataḥ and भीमोऽप्येवं for bhīmo hy eṣa kept as variants.

Verse 20 (6.109.20)

सात्यकिश्चेकितानश्च माद्रीपुत्रौ च पाण्डवौ । अभिमन्युः सुविक्रान्तो वाहिनीं द्रवते मम ॥

sātyakiścekitānaśca mādrīputrau ca pāṇḍavau | abhimanyuḥ suvikrānto vāhinīṃ dravate mama

Satyaki and Chekitana, the two Pandava sons of Madri, and the very valiant Abhimanyu are routing my host.

Verse 21 (6.109.21)

धृष्टद्युम्नस्तथा शूरो राक्षसश्च घटोत्कचः । व्यद्रावयेतां सहसा सैन्यं मम महारणे ॥

dhṛṣṭadyumnastathā śūro rākṣasaśca ghaṭotkacaḥ | vyadrāvayetāṃ sahasā sainyaṃ mama mahāraṇe

The brave Dhrishtadyumna and the rakshasa Ghatotkacha have suddenly put my army to flight in this great battle.

Verse 22 (6.109.22)

वध्यमानस्य सैन्यस्य सर्वैरेतैर्महारथैः । नान्यां गतिं प्रपश्यामि स्थाने युद्धे च भारत ॥

vadhyamānasya sainyasya sarvairetairmahārathaiḥ | nānyāṃ gatiṃ prapaśyāmi sthāne yuddhe ca bhārata

For my army, slaughtered by all these great chariot-warriors, I see no other refuge, whether to stand firm or to fight, O Bharata,

Verse 23 (6.109.23)

ऋते त्वां पुरुषव्याघ्र देवतुल्यपराक्रमम् । पर्याप्तस्तु भवाञ्शीघ्रं पीडितानां गतिर्भव ॥

ṛte tvāṃ puruṣavyāghra devatulyaparākramam | paryāptastu bhavāñśīghraṃ pīḍitānāṃ gatirbhava

except you, tiger among men, whose valour equals that of the gods. You are equal to the task; be quickly the refuge of the afflicted.

Verse 24 (6.109.24)

एवमुक्तो महाराज पिता देवव्रतस्तव । चिन्तयित्वा मुहूर्तं तु कृत्वा निश्चयमात्मनः ॥

evamukto mahārāja pitā devavratastava | cintayitvā muhūrtaṃ tu kṛtvā niścayamātmanaḥ

Thus addressed, great king, your father Devavrata thought for a moment and made up his mind,

Note on the text: The critical edition's 6.105.23ab–cd; its third line, 23ef, opens verse 25.

Verse 25 (6.109.25)

तव संधारयन्पुत्रमब्रवीच्छंतनोः सुतः । दुर्योधन विजानीहि स्थिरो भूत्वा विशांपते ॥

tava saṃdhārayanputramabravīcchaṃtanoḥ sutaḥ | duryodhana vijānīhi sthiro bhūtvā viśāṃpate

and, steadying your son, the son of Shantanu said: "Duryodhana, understand this, and be steady, lord of the people.

Note on the text: Line 1 is the critical edition's 6.105.23ef; line 2 is its 6.105.24ab (भूत्वा for bhava, a variant).

Verse 26 (6.109.26)

पातयिष्ये रिपूनन्यान्पाण्डवान्प्रतिपालयन् । प्रतिज्ञातो जयो ह्यद्य पाण्डवानां महात्मनाम् ॥

pātayiṣye ripūnanyānpāṇḍavānpratipālayan | pratijñāto jayo hyadya pāṇḍavānāṃ mahātmanām

I shall bring down other enemies while sparing the Pandavas, for victory has been promised to the great-souled Pandavas today.

Note on the text: Bhishma's speech (26–31), without a printed heading on the page; the speaker is given as Bhishma. This verse is not in the critical edition's constituted text (found in the vulgate recension); the critical edition records it in its apparatus as the star passage 6.105.23d*0438. Removed the backtick and quote marks the page prints around the verse, and the doubled verse mark (।। ॥) is reduced to one.

Verse 27 (6.109.27)

पूर्वकालं तव मया प्रतिज्ञानं महाबल । हत्वा दशसहस्राणि क्षत्रियाणां महात्मनाम् ॥

pūrvakālaṃ tava mayā pratijñānaṃ mahābala | hatvā daśasahasrāṇi kṣatriyāṇāṃ mahātmanām

Long ago I made you a promise, mighty one: that after slaying ten thousand great-souled kshatriyas

Note on the text: Line 1 is the critical edition's 6.105.24cd (प्रतिज्ञानं for pratijñātaṃ, a variant); line 2 is its 6.105.25ab.

Verse 28 (6.109.28)

संग्रामादपयास्यामि ह्येतत्कर्म समाहितम् । इति तत्कृतवांश्चाहं यथोक्तं भरतर्षभ ॥

saṃgrāmādapayāsyāmi hyetatkarma samāhitam | iti tatkṛtavāṃścāhaṃ yathoktaṃ bharatarṣabha

I would withdraw from the battle, and that was the task I set myself. And I have done it just as I said, O bull of the Bharatas.

Note on the text: Line 1 differs from the critical edition's 6.105.25cd (saṃgrāmād vyapayātavyam etat karma mamāhnikam), kept as a recension variant; line 2 is its 6.105.25ef.

Verse 29 (6.109.29)

अद्य चापि महत्कर्म प्रकरिष्ये यथाबलम् । अहं वाऽद्य हतः शेष्ये हनिष्ये वाऽद्य पाण्डवान् ॥

adya cāpi mahatkarma prakariṣye yathābalam | ahaṃ vā'dya hataḥ śeṣye haniṣye vā'dya pāṇḍavān

Today too I shall do a great deed, as far as my strength allows: either I shall lie slain today, or I shall slay the Pandavas today.

Note on the text: Line 1 ends यथाबलम् for mahāhave, and line 2 reads वाऽद्य हतः for vā nihataḥ; both kept as variants.

Verse 30 (6.109.30)

अशक्याः पाण्डवा जेतुं देवैरपि सवासवैः । किं पुनर्मर्त्यधर्मेण क्षत्रियेण महाबलाः ॥

aśakyāḥ pāṇḍavā jetuṃ devairapi savāsavaiḥ | kiṃ punarmartyadharmeṇa kṣatriyeṇa mahābalāḥ

The Pandavas cannot be conquered even by the gods with Vasava (Indra) at their head; how much less, mighty as they are, by a kshatriya subject to the law of death!

Note on the text: Not in the critical edition's constituted text (found in the vulgate recension); the critical edition records it in its apparatus as the star passage 6.105.26d*0439 (महाबलाः for mahābala). Removed the backtick and quote mark the page prints around line 1.

Verse 31 (6.109.31)

अद्य ते पुरुषव्याघ्र प्रतरिष्ये ऋणं तव । भर्तृपिण्डकृतं राजन्निहतः पृतनामुखे ॥

adya te puruṣavyāghra pratariṣye ṛṇaṃ tava | bhartṛpiṇḍakṛtaṃ rājannihataḥ pṛtanāmukhe

Today, tiger among men, I shall pay off my debt to you, the debt of the food my master gave me, O king, falling slain at the head of the army."

Note on the text: Corrected निहताः → निहतः (misprint in Wikisource; a stray vowel sign leaves a plural with nothing to agree with, where Bhishma speaks of himself, critical edition nihataḥ). प्रतरिष्ये ऋणं तव for pratimokṣye ṛṇaṃ mahat kept as a variant.

Verse 32 (6.109.32)

इत्युक्त्वा भरतश्रेष्ठ क्षत्रियान्प्रवपञ्छरैः । आससाद दुराधर्षः पाण्डवानामनीकिनीम् ॥

ityuktvā bharataśreṣṭha kṣatriyānpravapañcharaiḥ | āsasāda durādharṣaḥ pāṇḍavānāmanīkinīm

Having said this, O best of the Bharatas, he who was hard to withstand, strewing the kshatriyas with arrows, fell upon the host of the Pandavas.

Note on the text: प्रवपञ्छरैः for pratapañ śaraiḥ and the vocative भरतश्रेष्ठ for bharataśreṣṭhaḥ kept as variants.

Verse 33 (6.109.33)

अनीकमध्ये तिष्ठन्तं गाङ्गेयं भारतर्षभ । आशीविषमिव क्रुद्धं पाण्डवाः प्रत्यवारयन् ॥

anīkamadhye tiṣṭhantaṃ gāṅgeyaṃ bhāratarṣabha | āśīviṣamiva kruddhaṃ pāṇḍavāḥ pratyavārayan

As the son of Ganga stood in the midst of the host like an angry venomous serpent, O bull of the Bharatas, the Pandavas strove to hold him back.

Verse 34 (6.109.34)

दशमेऽहनि भीष्मस्तु दर्शयञ्शक्तिमात्मनः । राजञ्शतसहस्राणि सोऽवधीत्कुरुनन्दन ॥

daśame'hani bhīṣmastu darśayañśaktimātmanaḥ | rājañśatasahasrāṇi so'vadhītkurunandana

On the tenth day Bhishma, displaying his own might, slew a hundred thousand, O king, joy of the Kurus.

Verse 35 (6.109.35)

पाञ्चालानां च ये श्रेष्ठा राजपुत्रा महारथाः । तेषामादत्त तेजांसि जलं सूर्य इवांशुभिः ॥

pāñcālānāṃ ca ye śreṣṭhā rājaputrā mahārathāḥ | teṣāmādatta tejāṃsi jalaṃ sūrya ivāṃśubhiḥ

Of the foremost princes of the Panchalas, great chariot-warriors, he drew away the splendour, as the sun draws up water with its rays.

Verse 36 (6.109.36)

हत्वा दशसहस्राणि कुञ्जराणां तरस्विनाम् । सारोहाणां महाराज हयानां चायुतं तथा ॥

hatvā daśasahasrāṇi kuñjarāṇāṃ tarasvinām | sārohāṇāṃ mahārāja hayānāṃ cāyutaṃ tathā

Having slain ten thousand swift elephants, great king, and ten thousand horses together with their riders,

Verse 37 (6.109.37)

पूर्णे शतसहस्रे द्वे पादातानां नरोत्तमः । प्रजज्वाल रणे भीष्मो विधूम इव पावकः ॥

pūrṇe śatasahasre dve pādātānāṃ narottamaḥ | prajajvāla raṇe bhīṣmo vidhūma iva pāvakaḥ

and two full hundred thousand foot-soldiers, Bhishma, best of men, blazed in the battle like a smokeless fire.

Verse 38 (6.109.38)

न चैवं पाण्डवेयानां केचिच्छेकुर्निरीक्षितुम् । उत्तरं मार्गमास्थाय तपन्तमिव भास्करम् ॥

na caivaṃ pāṇḍaveyānāṃ kecicchekurnirīkṣitum | uttaraṃ mārgamāsthāya tapantamiva bhāskaram

None of those on the Pandava side could so much as look at him, as none can look at the scorching sun when it has entered its northern course.

Note on the text: न चैवं for na cainaṃ kept as a variant.

Verse 39 (6.109.39)

ते पाण्डवेयाः संरब्धा महेष्वासेन पीडिताः । वधायाभ्यद्रवन्भीष्मं सृञ्जयाश्च महारथाः ॥

te pāṇḍaveyāḥ saṃrabdhā maheṣvāsena pīḍitāḥ | vadhāyābhyadravanbhīṣmaṃ sṛñjayāśca mahārathāḥ

Hard pressed by that great archer, the Pandavas in their fury, and the great chariot-warriors of the Srinjayas, rushed at Bhishma to kill him.

Note on the text: Corrected पाण्डवेवाः → पाण्डवेयाः (misprint in Wikisource; व for य, critical edition pāṇḍaveyāḥ).

Verse 40 (6.109.40)

स वध्यमानो बहुभिर्भीष्मः शान्तनवस्तथा । अवकीर्णो महेष्वासैः शैलो मेघैरिवावृतः ॥

sa vadhyamāno bahubhirbhīṣmaḥ śāntanavastathā | avakīrṇo maheṣvāsaiḥ śailo meghairivāvṛtaḥ

Assailed by many, Bhishma son of Shantanu was covered over by great archers, like a mountain wrapped in clouds.

Note on the text: Differs in wording from the critical edition (sa yudhyamāno … avakīrṇo mahābāhuḥ śailo meghair ivāsitaiḥ); kept as a recension variant.

Verse 41 (6.109.41)

पुत्रास्तु तव गाङ्गेयं समन्तात्पर्यवारयन् । महत्या सेनया सार्धं ततो युद्धमवर्तत ॥

putrāstu tava gāṅgeyaṃ samantātparyavārayan | mahatyā senayā sārdhaṃ tato yuddhamavartata

But your sons surrounded the son of Ganga on every side with a great army, and then the battle went on.