Mahabharata (English)

by Kisari Mohan Ganguli | 2,566,952 words | ISBN-10: 8121505933

The English translation of the Mahabharata is a large text describing ancient India. It is authored by Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa and contains the records of ancient humans. Also, it documents the fate of the Kauravas and the Pandavas family. Another part of the large contents, deal with many philosophical dialogues such as the goals of life. Book...

Sanjaya said,

"Beholding the mighty and terrible array called Krauncha formed by Pandu’s son of immeasurable energy, your son, approaching the preceptor, and Kripa, and Salya, O sire, and Somadatta’s son, and Vikarna, and Asvatthaman also, and all his brothers too, headed by Dussasana, O Bharata, and other immeasurable heroes assembled there for battle, said these timely words, gladdening them all,

'Armed with various kinds of weapons, you all are conversant with the meaning of the scriptures. You mighty car-warriors, each of you is singly capable of slaying in battle the sons of Pandu with their troops. How much more then, when you are united together. Our host, therefore, which is protected by Bhishma, is immeasurable, while that host of theirs, which is protected by Bhima, is measurable.[1] Let the Samsthanas, the Surasenas, the Venikas, the Kukkuras, the Recakas, the Trigartas, the Madrakas, the Yavanas, with Satrunjayas, and Dussasana, and that excellent hero Vikarna, and Nanda and Upanandaka, and Citrasena, along with the Manibhadrakas, protect Bhishma with their (respective) troops,'—

Then Bhishma and Drona and your sons, O sire, formed a mighty array for resisting that of the Parthas. And Bhishma, surrounded by a large body of troops, advanced, leading a mighty army, like the chief of the celestials himself. And that mighty bowman, the son of Bharadvaja, endued with great energy, followed him with the Kuntalas, the Dasarnas, and the Magadhas, O king, and with the Vidarbhas, the Melakas, the Karnas, and the Pravaranas also.

And the Gandharas, the Sindhusauviras, the Sivis and the Vasatis with all their combatants also, (followed) Bhishma, that ornament of battle, and Sakuni, with all his troops protected the son of Bharadvaja. And then king Duryodhana, united with all his brothers, with the Asvalakas, the Vikarnas, the Vamanas, the Kosalas, the Daradas, the Vrikas, as also the Kshudrakas and the Malavas advanced cheerfully against the Pandava host. And Bhurisravas, and Sala, and Salya, and Bhagadatta, O sire, and Vinda and Anuvinda of Avanti, protected the left flank. And Somadatta, and Susarman, and Sudakshina, the ruler of the Kamvojas and Satayus, and Srutayus, were on the right flank. And Asvatthaman, and Kripa, and Kritavarman of Satwata’s race, with a very large division of the troops, were, stationed at the rear of the army. And behind them were the rulers of many provinces, and Ketumat, and Vasudana, and the powerful son of the king of Kasi.

Then all the troops on your side cheerfully waiting for battle, O Bharata, blew their conches with great pleasure, and set up leonine roars. And hearing the shouts of those (combatants) filled with delight the venerable Kuru grandsire, endued with great prowess, uttering a leonine roar, blew his conch. Thereupon, conches and drums and diverse kinds of Pesis and cymbals, were sounded at once by others, and the noise made became a loud uproar. And Madhava and Arjuna, both stationed on a great car unto which were yoked white steeds, blew their excellent conches decked with gold and jewels. And Hrishikesa blew the conch called Pancajanya, and Dhananjaya (that called) Devadatta. And Vrikodara of terrible deeds blew the huge conch called Paundra. And Kunti’s son king Yudhishthira blew the conch called Anantavijaya, while Nakula and Sahadeva (those conches called) Sughosa and Manipushpaka.[2]

And the ruler of Kasi, and Saivya, and Sikhandin the mighty car-warrior, and Dhrishtadyumna, and Virata, and the mighty car-warrior Satyaki, and that great bowman the king of the Pancalas, and the five sons of Draupadi, all blew their large conches and set up leonine roars. And that great uproar uttered there by those heroes, loudly reverberated through both the earth and the welkin. Thus, O great king, the Kurus and the Pandavas, both filled with delight, advanced against each other for battling again, and scorching each other thus."

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

This identical verse occurs in the first chapter of the Bhagavad Gita (vide, Verse 10, Chap. 25, of this Parvan, ante). There following the commentators, particularly Sreedhara, I have rendered Aparyaptam and Paryaptam as less than sufficient and sufficient. It would seem, however, that that is erroneous.

[2]:

For these names, vide note in page 51 ante, Bhishma Parva.

Conclusion:

This concludes Section LI of Book 6 (Bhishma Parva) of the Mahabharata, of which an English translation is presented on this page. This book is famous as one of the Itihasa, similair in content to the eighteen Puranas. Book 6 is one of the eighteen books comprising roughly 100,000 Sanskrit metrical verses.

FAQ (frequently asked questions):

Which keywords occur in Section LI of Book 6 of the Mahabharata?

The most relevant definitions are: Bhishma, Vikarna, Pandava, Dussasana, Kasi, Kuru; since these occur the most in Book 6, Section LI. There are a total of 87 unique keywords found in this section mentioned 104 times.

What is the name of the Parva containing Section LI of Book 6?

Section LI is part of the Bhagavat-Gita Parva which itself is a sub-section of Book 6 (Bhishma Parva). The Bhagavat-Gita Parva contains a total of 112 sections while Book 6 contains a total of 3 such Parvas.

Can I buy a print edition of Section LI as contained in Book 6?

Yes! The print edition of the Mahabharata contains the English translation of Section LI of Book 6 and can be bought on the main page. The author is Kisari Mohan Ganguli and the latest edition (including Section LI) is from 2012.

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