04048001a tathA vyUDheSv anIkeSu kauraveyair mahArathaiH 'After the kauravas, O bharata, had taken their stand in this order,
04048001c upAyAd arjunas tUrNaM rathaghoSeNa nAdayan arjuna, filling the air with the rattle and din of his car, advanced quickly towards them.
04048002a dadRzus te dhvajAgraM vai zuzruvuz ca rathasvanam And the kurus beheld his banner-top and heard the rattle and din of his car
04048002c dodhUyamAnasya bhRzaGM gANDIvasya ca nisvanam as also the twang of the gANDIva stretched repeatedly by him.
04048003a tatas tat sarvam Alokya droNo vacanam abravIt And noting all this, droNa said,
04048003c mahAratham anuprAptanM dRSTvA gANDIvadhanvinam after seeing that great car-warrior come, wielding the gANDIva --
04048004a etad dhvajAgramM pArthasya dUratasH samMprakAzate 'That is the banner-top of pArtha which shineth at a distance,
04048004c eSa ghoSasH sajalado roravIti ca vAnaraH and this is the noise of his car, and that is the ape that roareth frightfully. Indeed, the ape striketh terror in the troops.
04048005a eSa tiSThan rathazreSTho rathe rathavarapraNut And there stationed on that excellent car, the foremost of car-warriors
04048005c utkarSati dhanuzHzreSThaGM gANDIvam azanisvanam draweth that best of bows, the gANDIva, whose twang is as loud as the thunder.
04048006a imau hi bANau sahitau pAdayor me vyavasthitau Behold, these two shafts coming together fall at my feet,
04048006c aparau cApy atikrAntau karNau saMspRzya me zarau and two others pass off barely touching my ears.
04048007a niruSya hi vane vAsaGM kRtvA karmAtimAnuSam Completing the period of exile and having achieved many wonderful feats,
04048007c abhivAdayate pArthazH zrotre ca paripRcchati pArtha saluteth me and whispereth in my ears. Endued with wisdom and beloved of his relatives, this dhanaMjaya, the son of pANDu, is, indeed, beheld by us after a long time, blazing with beauty and grace. Possessed of car and arrows, furnished with handsome fences and quiver and conch and banner and coat of mail, decked with diadem and scimitar and bow, the son of pRthA shineth like the blazing (Homa) fire surrounded with sacrificial ladles and fed with sacrificial butter.' 'vaizaMpAyana continued, 'Beholding the kurus ready for battle, addressing matsya's son in words suitable to the occasion,
04048008 arjuna uvAca arjuna said,
04048008a iSupAte ca senAyA hayAn saMyaccha sArathe 'O charioteer, stop the horses at an arrowfall from the army,
04048008c yAvat samIkSe sainye 'smin kvAsau kurukulAdhamaH while I find out where's this wretch of the kuru race.
04048009a sarvAn anyAn anAdRtya dRSTvA tam atimAninam Disregarding all others, when I see that conceited guy,
04048009c tasya mUrdhni patiSyAmi tata ete parAjitAH I will fall upon his head, then these will be defeated.
04048010a eSa vyavasthito droNo drauNiz ca tadanantaram There standeth droNa, and next to him azvatthAman,
04048010c bhISmaH kRpaz ca karNaz ca maheSvAsA vyavasthitAH and bhISma and kRpa and karNa, all great bowmen.
04048011a rAjAnanM nAtra pazyAmi gAsH samAdAya gacchati I do not see, however, the king there. I guess that, taking away with him the kine,
04048011c dakSiNamM mArgam AsthAya zaGke jIvaparAyaNaH he retreateth by the southern road, anxious to save his life.
04048012a utsRjyaitad rathAnIkaGM gaccha yatra suyodhanaH Leaving this array of car-warriors, proceed to the spot where suyodhana is.
04048012c tatraiva yotsye vairATe nAsti yuddhanM nirAmiSam There will I fight, O son of virATa, for there the battle will not be fruitless.
04048012e taJM jitvA vinivartiSye gAsH samAdAya vai punaH Defeating him I will come back, taking away the kine.'
04048013a evam uktasH sa vairATir hayAn saMyamya yatnataH 'Thus addressed, the son of virATa restrained the steeds with an effort
04048013c niyamya ca tato razmIn yatra te kurupuGMgavAH and turned them by a pull at the bridle from the spot where those bulls of the kuru race were,
04048013e acodayat tato vAhAn yato duryodhanas tataH and urged them on towards the place where duryodhana was.
04048014a utsRjya rathavaMzanM tu prayAte zvetavAhane And as arjuna went away leaving that thick array of cars,
04048014c abhiprAyaM viditvAsya droNo vacanam abravIt kRpa, guessing his intention, addressed his own comrades, saying,
04048015a naiSo 'ntareNa rAjAnamM bIbhatsusH sthAtum icchati 'This bIbhatsu desireth not to take up his stand at a spot remote from the king.
04048015c tasya pArSNiGM grahISyAmo javenAbhiprayAsyataH Let us quickly fall upon the flanks of the advancing hero.
04048016a na hy enam abhisaGMkruddham eko yudhyeta saMyuge When inflamed with wrath, none else, unassisted, can encounter him in battle
04048016c anyo devAt sahasrAkSAt kRSNAd vA devakIsutAt save the deity of a thousand eyes, or kRSNa the son of Devaki.
04048017a kinM no gAvaH kariSyanti dhanaM vA vipulaM tathA Of what use to us would the kine be or this vast wealth also,
04048017c duryodhanaH pArthajale purA naur iva majjati if duryodhana were to sink, like a boat, in the ocean of pArtha?'
04048018a tathaiva gatvA bIbhatsur nAma vizrAvya cAtmanaH Meanwhile, bIbhatsu, having proceeded towards that division of the army, announced himself speedily by name,
04048018c zalabhair iva tAM senAM zaraizH zIghram avAkirat and covered the troops with his arrows thick as locusts.
04048019a kIryamANAzH zaraughais tu yodhAs te pArthacoditaiH And covered with those countless shafts shot by pArtha,
04048019c nApazyann AvRtAmM bhUmim antarikSaJM ca patribhiH the hostile warriors could not see anything, the earth itself and the sky being hidden by arrows.
04048020a teSAnM nAtmanino yuddhe nApayAne 'bhavan matiH And the soldiers who had been ready for the fight were so confounded that none could even the flee from the field.
04048020c zIghratvam eva pArthasya pUjayanti sma cetasA And beholding the light-handedness of pArtha they all applauded it mentally.
04048021a tatazH zaGkhamM pradadhmau sa dviSatAM lomaharSaNam And arjuna then blew his conch which always made the bristles of the foe stand erect.
04048021c visphArya ca dhanuzHzreSThanM dhvaje bhUtAny acodayat And twanging his best of bows, he urged the creatures on his flagstaff to roar more frightfully.
04048022a tasya zaGkhasya zabdena rathanemisvanena ca And at the blare of his conch and the rattle of his car-wheels, and the twang of the gANDIva,
04048022c amAnuSANAnM teSAJM ca bhUtAnAnM dhvajavAsinAm and the roar of the superhuman creatures stationed on his flagstaff, the earth itself began to tremble.
04048023a UrdhvamM pucchAn vidhunvAnA rebhamANAsH samantataH And shaking their upraised tails and lowing together,
04048023c gAvaH pratinyavartanta dizam AsthAya dakSiNAm the kine turned back, proceeding along the southern road.''
