Dhritarashtra Laments His Army

Verse 1 (6.76.1)

एवं बहुगुणं सैन्यमेवं बहुविधं परम् । व्यूढमेवं यथाशास्त्रममोघं चैव सञ्जय ॥

evaṃ bahuguṇaṃ sainyamevaṃ bahuvidhaṃ param | vyūḍhamevaṃ yathāśāstramamoghaṃ caiva sañjaya

Sanjaya, an army of such great merit, of so many kinds and so excellent, drawn up according to the science of war and never failing,

Verse 2 (6.76.2)

जुष्टमस्माकमत्यन्तमभिकामं च नः सदा । प्रहृष्टं व्यसनोपेतं पुरस्ताद्दृष्टविक्रमम् ॥

juṣṭamasmākamatyantamabhikāmaṃ ca naḥ sadā | prahṛṣṭaṃ vyasanopetaṃ purastāddṛṣṭavikramam

wholly devoted to us and ever eager in our cause, joyful and full of ardour, its prowess proven before;

Verse 3 (6.76.3)

नातिवृद्धमबालं च न कृशं न च पीवरम् । लघुवृत्तायतप्रायं सागराकारमव्ययम् ॥

nātivṛddhamabālaṃ ca na kṛśaṃ na ca pīvaram | laghuvṛttāyataprāyaṃ sāgarākāramavyayam

neither too old nor boyish, neither lean nor fat, quick in action, its men mostly tall, vast as the ocean and unfailing;

Verse 4 (6.76.4)

आत्तसन्नाहशस्त्रं च बहुशस्त्रपरिग्रहम् । असियुद्धे नियुद्धे च गदायुद्धे च कोविदम् ॥

āttasannāhaśastraṃ ca bahuśastraparigraham | asiyuddhe niyuddhe ca gadāyuddhe ca kovidam

its armour and weapons taken up, furnished with weapons of many kinds, skilled in sword-fighting, in wrestling and in mace-fighting;

Verse 5 (6.76.5)

प्रासर्ष्टितोमरेष्वाजौ परिघेष्वायसेषु च । भिण्डिपालेषु शक्तीषु मुसलेषु च सर्वशः ॥

prāsarṣṭitomareṣvājau parigheṣvāyaseṣu ca | bhiṇḍipāleṣu śaktīṣu musaleṣu ca sarvaśaḥ

in battle with lances, double-edged swords and javelins, with iron bars, with bhindipalas, spears and clubs of every kind,

Verse 6 (6.76.6)

कम्पनेषु च चापेषु कणपेषु च सर्वशः । क्षेपणीयेषु चित्रेषु मुष्टियुद्धेषु च क्षमम् ॥

kampaneṣu ca cāpeṣu kaṇapeṣu ca sarvaśaḥ | kṣepaṇīyeṣu citreṣu muṣṭiyuddheṣu ca kṣamam

with kampanas and bows, with kanapas of every kind, with various missiles and in fist-fighting, it is able;

Note on the text: Corrected क्षेणणीयेषु → क्षेपणीयेषु (misprint in Wikisource; ण for प; the critical edition has the same word, kṣepaṇīṣu) and मुष्टयुद्धेषु → मुष्टियुद्धेषु (misprint in Wikisource; a dropped i-sign; the critical edition reads muṣṭiyuddheṣu). The rest of line 2 (चित्रेषु … च क्षमम् for citrāsu … kovidam) kept as a recension variant.

Verse 7 (6.76.7)

अपरोक्षं च विद्यासु व्यायामे च कृतश्रमम् । शस्त्रग्रहणविद्यासु सर्वासु परिनिष्ठितम् ॥

aparokṣaṃ ca vidyāsu vyāyāme ca kṛtaśramam | śastragrahaṇavidyāsu sarvāsu pariniṣṭhitam

it has first-hand mastery of the sciences, has laboured at exercise, and is thoroughly trained in every art of wielding weapons;

Verse 8 (6.76.8)

आरोहे पर्यवस्कन्दे सरणे सान्तरप्लुते । सम्यक्प्रहरणे याने व्यपयाने च कोविदम् ॥

ārohe paryavaskande saraṇe sāntaraplute | samyakpraharaṇe yāne vyapayāne ca kovidam

skilled in mounting and dismounting, in advancing and in leaping across gaps, in striking true, in charging and in falling back;

Verse 9 (6.76.9)

नागाश्वरथयानेषु बहुशः सुपरीक्षितम् । परीक्ष्य च यथान्यायं वेतनेनोपपादितम् ॥

nāgāśvarathayāneṣu bahuśaḥ suparīkṣitam | parīkṣya ca yathānyāyaṃ vetanenopapāditam

tested many times in riding elephants, horses and chariots, and, after due examination, taken on for wages;

Verse 10 (6.76.10)

न गोष्ठ्या नोपकारेण न च बन्धुनिमित्ततः । न सौहृदबलैर्वापि नाकुलीनपरिग्रहैः ॥

na goṣṭhyā nopakāreṇa na ca bandhunimittataḥ | na sauhṛdabalairvāpi nākulīnaparigrahaiḥ

not recruited through gossip or as a favour, nor for the sake of kinship, nor by the pull of friendship, nor by taking in the low-born;

Verse 11 (6.76.11)

समृद्धजनमार्यं च तुष्टसंबन्धिबान्धवम् । कृतोपकारभूयिष्ठं यशस्वि च मनस्वि च ॥

samṛddhajanamāryaṃ ca tuṣṭasaṃbandhibāndhavam | kṛtopakārabhūyiṣṭhaṃ yaśasvi ca manasvi ca

its people prosperous and noble, their relations and kinsmen content, most of them men we have favoured, glorious and high-spirited;

Verse 12 (6.76.12)

स्वजनैस्तु नरैर्मुख्यैर्बहुशो दृष्टकर्मभिः । लोकपालोपमैस्तात पालितं लोकविश्रुतम् ॥

svajanaistu narairmukhyairbahuśo dṛṣṭakarmabhiḥ | lokapālopamaistāta pālitaṃ lokaviśrutam

protected, my son, by our own leading men, whose deeds have been seen many times and who are like the guardians of the worlds, an army renowned throughout the world;

Verse 13 (6.76.13)

बहुभिः क्षत्रियैर्गुप्तं पृथिव्यां लोकसंमतैः । अस्मानभिगतैः कामात्सबलैः सपदानुगैः ॥

bahubhiḥ kṣatriyairguptaṃ pṛthivyāṃ lokasaṃmataiḥ | asmānabhigataiḥ kāmātsabalaiḥ sapadānugaiḥ

guarded by many Kshatriyas honoured throughout the earth, who came over to us of their own will with their forces and their followers;

Verse 14 (6.76.14)

महोदधिमिवापूर्णमापगाभिः समन्ततः । अपक्षपक्षिसंकाशै रथैर्नागैश्च संवृतम् ॥

mahodadhimivāpūrṇamāpagābhiḥ samantataḥ | apakṣapakṣisaṃkāśai rathairnāgaiśca saṃvṛtam

like the great ocean filled by rivers from every side, crowded with chariots and elephants that are like birds without wings;

Verse 15 (6.76.15)

नानायोधजलं भीमं वाहनोर्मितरङ्गिणम् । क्षेपण्यसिगदाशक्तिशरप्राससमाकुलम् ॥

nānāyodhajalaṃ bhīmaṃ vāhanormitaraṅgiṇam | kṣepaṇyasigadāśaktiśaraprāsasamākulam

fearsome, its many warriors its waters and its mounts its waves and billows, teeming with slings, swords, maces, spears, arrows and lances;

Note on the text: Corrected शरप्राससामाकुलम् → शरप्राससमाकुलम् (misprint in Wikisource; a doubled syllable that makes the quarter a syllable too long; the critical edition reads -śaraprāsasamākulam).

Verse 16 (6.76.16)

ध्वजभूषणसंबाधं रत्नपट्टसुसंचितम् । परिधावद्भिरश्वैश्च वायुवेगविकम्पितम् ॥

dhvajabhūṣaṇasaṃbādhaṃ ratnapaṭṭasusaṃcitam | paridhāvadbhiraśvaiśca vāyuvegavikampitam

thronged with banners and ornaments, richly set with jewelled cloth, tossed as by the force of the wind by its galloping horses;

Note on the text: Line 2 differs from the critical edition's 6.72.16cd (vāhanaiḥ parisarpadbhir vāyuvegavikampitam); kept as a recension variant.

Verse 17 (6.76.17)

अपारमिव गर्जन्तं सागरप्रतिमं महत् । द्रोणभीष्माभिसंगुप्तं गुप्तं च कृतवर्मणा ॥

apāramiva garjantaṃ sāgarapratimaṃ mahat | droṇabhīṣmābhisaṃguptaṃ guptaṃ ca kṛtavarmaṇā

roaring as if boundless, mighty as the ocean, guarded all round by Drona and Bhishma, and guarded by Kritavarman,

Note on the text: Corrected द्रोणभीष्मासिसंगप्तं → द्रोणभीष्माभिसंगुप्तं (misprint in Wikisource; सि for भि and a dropped u-sign; the critical edition reads droṇabhīṣmābhisaṃguptaṃ).

Verse 18 (6.76.18)

कृपदुःशासनाभ्यां च जयद्रथमुखैस्तथा । भगदत्तविकर्णाभ्यां द्रौणिसौबलबाह्लिकैः ॥

kṛpaduḥśāsanābhyāṃ ca jayadrathamukhaistathā | bhagadattavikarṇābhyāṃ drauṇisaubalabāhlikaiḥ

by Kripa and Duhshasana, by Jayadratha and the others, by Bhagadatta and Vikarna, by Drona's son, Saubala and Bahlika,

Verse 19 (6.76.19)

गुप्तं प्रवीरैर्लोकस्य सारवद्भिर्महात्मभिः । यदहन्यत सैन्यं मे दिष्टमत्र परायणम् ॥

guptaṃ pravīrairlokasya sāravadbhirmahātmabhiḥ | yadahanyata sainyaṃ me diṣṭamatra parāyaṇam

guarded by the world's foremost heroes, great-souled men of real strength: if such an army of mine has been slain, fate is the last resort here.

Note on the text: Corrected प्रवीरैर्लौकैश्च → प्रवीरैर्लोकस्य (misprint in Wikisource; लौकैः is not a word; the critical edition reads pravīrair lokasya). Line 2 differs from the critical edition's 6.72.19cd (yad ahanyata saṃgrāme diṣṭam etat purātanam); kept as a recension variant.

Verse 20 (6.76.20)

नैतादृशं समुद्योगं दृष्टवन्तो हि मानुषाः । ऋषयो वा महाभागाः पुराणा भुवि सञ्जय ॥

naitādṛśaṃ samudyogaṃ dṛṣṭavanto hi mānuṣāḥ | ṛṣayo vā mahābhāgāḥ purāṇā bhuvi sañjaya

Never on earth, Sanjaya, have men, or even the blessed sages of old, seen such a mustering of strength.

Verse 21 (6.76.21)

ईदृशोऽपि बलौघस्तु संयुक्तः शस्त्रसंपदा । वध्यते यत्र संग्रामे किमन्यद्भागधेयतः ॥

īdṛśo'pi balaughastu saṃyuktaḥ śastrasaṃpadā | vadhyate yatra saṃgrāme kimanyadbhāgadheyataḥ

When even such a flood of forces, equipped with a wealth of weapons, is slaughtered in battle, what can it be but fate?

Verse 22 (6.76.22)

विपरीतमिदं सर्वं प्रतिभाति हि सञ्जय । यत्रेदृशं बलं घोरं नावधीद्युधि पाण्डवान् ॥

viparītamidaṃ sarvaṃ pratibhāti hi sañjaya | yatredṛśaṃ balaṃ ghoraṃ nāvadhīdyudhi pāṇḍavān

All of this seems to me turned upside down, Sanjaya, when so terrible an army has not slain the Pandavas in battle.

Verse 23 (6.76.23)

पाण्डवार्थाय नियतं देवास्तत्र समागताः । युध्यन्ते मामकं सैन्यं यथाऽवध्यत सञ्जय ॥

pāṇḍavārthāya niyataṃ devāstatra samāgatāḥ | yudhyante māmakaṃ sainyaṃ yathā'vadhyata sañjaya

Surely the gods have gathered there for the Pandavas' sake and are fighting my army, Sanjaya, so that it has been slain.

Verse 24 (6.76.24)

उक्तोऽपि विदुरेणाहं हितं पथ्यं च नित्यशः । न च जग्राह तन्मन्दः पुत्रो दुर्योधनो मम ॥

ukto'pi vidureṇāhaṃ hitaṃ pathyaṃ ca nityaśaḥ | na ca jagrāha tanmandaḥ putro duryodhano mama

Vidura told me again and again what was good and wholesome, yet my foolish son Duryodhana would not accept it.

Verse 25 (6.76.25)

तथ्यां मन्ये मतिं तस्य सर्वज्ञस्य महात्मनः । आसीत्तथाऽऽगतं तात येन दृष्टमिदं पुरा ॥

tathyāṃ manye matiṃ tasya sarvajñasya mahātmanaḥ | āsīttathā''gataṃ tāta yena dṛṣṭamidaṃ purā

I think that the judgement of that all-knowing, great-souled man was true; it has come to pass just as he foresaw it long ago, my son.

Verse 26 (6.76.26)

अथवा भाव्यमेवं हि संजयैतेन सर्वथा । पुरा धात्रा यथा दिष्टं तत्तथा न तदन्यथा ॥

athavā bhāvyamevaṃ hi saṃjayaitena sarvathā | purā dhātrā yathā diṣṭaṃ tattathā na tadanyathā

Or else, Sanjaya, this was bound to happen so in every way; as the Creator ordained it long ago, so it is, and not otherwise.