The Pandava Camp at Kurukshetra

Verse 1 (5.152.1)

ततो देशे समे स्निग्धे प्रभूतयवसेन्धने । निवेशयामास तदा सेनां राजा युधिष्ठिरः ॥

tato deśe same snigdhe prabhūtayavasendhane | niveśayāmāsa tadā senāṃ rājā yudhiṣṭhiraḥ

Then King Yudhishthira encamped his army on level, fertile ground with plenty of grass and firewood.

Verse 2 (5.152.2)

परिहृत्य श्मशानानि देवतायतनानि च । आश्रमांश्च महर्षीणां तीर्थान्यायतनानि च ॥

parihṛtya śmaśānāni devatāyatanāni ca | āśramāṃśca maharṣīṇāṃ tīrthānyāyatanāni ca

Avoiding cremation grounds and temples of the gods, the hermitages of great sages, sacred fords and holy places,

Verse 3 (5.152.3)

मधुरानूषरे देशे शुचौ पुण्ये महामतिः । निवेशं कारयामास कुन्तीपुत्रो युधिष्ठिरः ॥

madhurānūṣare deśe śucau puṇye mahāmatiḥ | niveśaṃ kārayāmāsa kuntīputro yudhiṣṭhiraḥ

the wise son of Kunti, Yudhishthira, had the camp set up on sweet ground free of salt, clean and holy.

Verse 4 (5.152.4)

ततश्च पुनरुत्थाय सुखी विश्रान्तवाहनः । प्रययौ पृथिवीपालैर्वृतः शतसहस्रशः ॥

tataśca punarutthāya sukhī viśrāntavāhanaḥ | prayayau pṛthivīpālairvṛtaḥ śatasahasraśaḥ

Then, rising again, refreshed and with his mounts rested, he moved on, surrounded by kings in their hundreds of thousands.

Verse 5 (5.152.5)

विद्राव्य शतशो गुल्मान्धार्तराष्ट्रस्य सैनिकान् । पर्यक्रामत्समन्ताच्च पार्थेन सह केशवः ॥

vidrāvya śataśo gulmāndhārtarāṣṭrasya sainikān | paryakrāmatsamantācca pārthena saha keśavaḥ

Putting to flight by the hundred the outposts of soldiers of Dhritarashtra's son, Keshava went round on every side together with Partha.

Verse 6 (5.152.6)

शिबिरं मापयामास धृष्टद्युम्नश्च पार्षतः । सात्यकिश्च रथोदारो युयुधानश्च वीर्यवान् ॥

śibiraṃ māpayāmāsa dhṛṣṭadyumnaśca pārṣataḥ | sātyakiśca rathodāro yuyudhānaśca vīryavān

Dhrishtadyumna son of Prishata had the camp measured out, together with Satyaki, the noble chariot-fighter, the mighty Yuyudhana.

Verse 7 (5.152.7)

आसाद्य सरितं पुण्यां कुरुक्षेत्रे हिरण्वतीम् । सूपतीर्थां शुचिजलां शर्करापङ्कवर्जिताम् ॥

āsādya saritaṃ puṇyāṃ kurukṣetre hiraṇvatīm | sūpatīrthāṃ śucijalāṃ śarkarāpaṅkavarjitām

Coming to the holy river Hiranvati in Kurukshetra, with its good bathing places and clear water, free of gravel and mud,

Verse 8 (5.152.8)

खानयामास परिखां केशवस्तत्र भारत । गुप्त्यर्थमपि चादिश्य बलं तत्र न्यवेशयत् ॥

khānayāmāsa parikhāṃ keśavastatra bhārata | guptyarthamapi cādiśya balaṃ tatra nyaveśayat

Keshava had a moat dug there, Bharata, and posted troops there under orders to guard it.

Note on the text: Corrected केशवस्त्रत्र → केशवस्तत्र (misprint in Wikisource; stray r-stroke, critical edition keśavas tatra).

Verse 9 (5.152.9)

विधिर्यः शिबिरस्यासीत्पाण्डवानां महात्मनाम् । तद्विधानि नरेन्द्राणां कारयामास केशवः ॥

vidhiryaḥ śibirasyāsītpāṇḍavānāṃ mahātmanām | tadvidhāni narendrāṇāṃ kārayāmāsa keśavaḥ

The plan followed for the camp of the great-souled Pandavas — Keshava had camps of the same kind built for the kings.

Verse 10 (5.152.10)

प्रभूततरकाष्ठानि दुराधर्षतराणि च । भक्ष्यभोज्यान्नपानानि शतशोऽथ सहस्रशः ॥

prabhūtatarakāṣṭhāni durādharṣatarāṇi ca | bhakṣyabhojyānnapānāni śataśo'tha sahasraśaḥ

They had timber in great abundance and were very hard to assail, with foods to chew and to eat, grain and drink, by the hundred and the thousand.

Verse 11 (5.152.11)

शिबिराणि महार्हाणि राज्ञां तत्र पृथक्पृथक् । विमानानीव राजेन्द्र निविष्टानि महीतले ॥

śibirāṇi mahārhāṇi rājñāṃ tatra pṛthakpṛthak | vimānānīva rājendra niviṣṭāni mahītale

The costly camps of the kings, each one separate, stood there upon the earth like celestial palaces, king of kings.

Verse 12 (5.152.12)

तत्रासञ्शिल्पिनः प्राज्ञाः शतशो दत्तवेतनाः । सर्वोपकरणैर्युक्ता वैद्याः शास्त्रविशारदाः ॥

tatrāsañśilpinaḥ prājñāḥ śataśo dattavetanāḥ | sarvopakaraṇairyuktā vaidyāḥ śāstraviśāradāḥ

There were skilled craftsmen there by the hundred, paid their wages, and physicians learned in their science, supplied with every instrument.

Note on the text: Corrected सर्वापकरणैर्युक्ता → सर्वोपकरणैर्युक्ता (misprint in Wikisource; ā-mark for o-mark, critical edition sarvopakaraṇaiḥ).

Verse 13 (5.152.13)

ज्याधनुर्वर्मशस्त्राणां तथैव मधुसर्पिषोः । ससर्जरसपांसूनां राशयः पर्वतोपमाः ॥

jyādhanurvarmaśastrāṇāṃ tathaiva madhusarpiṣoḥ | sasarjarasapāṃsūnāṃ rāśayaḥ parvatopamāḥ

There were heaps like mountains of bowstrings, bows, armour and weapons, of honey and clarified butter, and of resin and sand.

Note on the text: Corrected ससर्जरकसपांसूनां → ससर्जरसपांसूनां (misprint in Wikisource; stray क breaks the compound sarjarasa, "resin"; the critical edition reads sasarja rasapāṃsūnāṃ, and has sasarjarasapāṃsavaḥ at 5.152.5).

Verse 14 (5.152.14)

बहूदकं सुयवसं तुषाङ्गारसमन्वितम् । शिबिरे शिबिरे राजा सञ्चकार युधिष्ठिरः ॥

bahūdakaṃ suyavasaṃ tuṣāṅgārasamanvitam | śibire śibire rājā sañcakāra yudhiṣṭhiraḥ

In every camp King Yudhishthira laid in plenty of water and good fodder, with husks and charcoal.

Verse 15 (5.152.15)

महायन्त्राणि नाराचास्तोमराणि परश्वधाः । धनूंषि कवचादीनि ऋष्टयस्तूणसंयुताः ॥

mahāyantrāṇi nārācāstomarāṇi paraśvadhāḥ | dhanūṃṣi kavacādīni ṛṣṭayastūṇasaṃyutāḥ

There were great engines, iron arrows, lances and axes, bows, armour and the like, and spears with quivers.

Verse 16 (5.152.16)

गजाः कण्टकसन्नाहा लोहवर्मोत्तरच्छदाः । दृश्यन्ते तत्र गिर्याभाः सहस्रशतयोधिनः ॥

gajāḥ kaṇṭakasannāhā lohavarmottaracchadāḥ | dṛśyante tatra giryābhāḥ sahasraśatayodhinaḥ

Elephants could be seen there like hills, armoured in spiked mail, with iron armour and coverings over it, each able to fight a hundred thousand.

Verse 17 (5.152.17)

निविष्टान्पाण्डवांस्तत्र ज्ञात्वा मित्राणि भारत । अभिसस्रुर्यथादेशं सबलाः सहवाहनाः ॥

niviṣṭānpāṇḍavāṃstatra jñātvā mitrāṇi bhārata | abhisasruryathādeśaṃ sabalāḥ sahavāhanāḥ

Learning that the Pandavas had encamped there, Bharata, their allies came to them, each to his appointed place, with their forces and their mounts.

Verse 18 (5.152.18)

चरितब्रह्मचर्यास्ते सोमपा भूरिदक्षिणाः । जयाय पाण्डुपुत्राणां समाजग्मुर्महीक्षितः ॥

caritabrahmacaryāste somapā bhūridakṣiṇāḥ | jayāya pāṇḍuputrāṇāṃ samājagmurmahīkṣitaḥ

Kings who had kept the vow of brahmacharya, drinkers of soma who gave rich sacrificial fees, gathered there for the victory of the sons of Pandu.