ततो विचार्य बहुधा रथमार्गेषु तान् हयान् ॥
प्राचोदयत् समे देशे मातलिर् भरतर्षभ ॥
तेन तेषां प्रणुन्नानाम् आशुत्वाच् छीघ्रगामिनाम् ॥
नान्वपश्यं तदा किं चित् तन् मे ऽद्भुतम् इवाभवत् ॥
ततस् ते दानवास् तत्र योधव्रातान्य् अनेकशः ॥
विकृतस्वररूपाणि भृशं सर्वाण्य् अचोदयन् ॥
तेन शब्देन महता समुद्रे पर्वतोपमाः ॥
आप्लवन्त गतैः सत्त्वैर् मत्स्याः शतसहस्रशः ॥
ततो वेगेन महता दानवा माम् उपाद्रवन् ॥
विमुञ्चन्तः शितान् बाणाञ् शतशो ऽथ सहस्रशः ॥
स संप्रहारस् तुमुलस् तेषां मम च भारत ॥
अवर्तत महाघोरो निवातकवचान्तकः ॥
ततो देवर्षयश् चैव दानवर्षिगणाश् च ये ॥
ब्रह्मर्षयश् च सिद्धाश् च समाजग्मुर् महामृधे ॥
ते वै माम् अनुरूपाभिर् मधुराभिर् जयैषिणः ॥
अस्तुवन् मुनयो वाग्भिर् यथेन्द्रं तारकामये ॥
tato vicārya bahudhā rathamārgeṣu tān hayān ||
prācodayat same deśe mātalir bharatarṣabha ||
tena teṣāṃ praṇunnānām āśutvāc chīghragāminām ||
nānvapaśyaṃ tadā kiṃ cit tan me 'dbhutam ivābhavat ||
tatas te dānavās tatra yodhavrātāny anekaśaḥ ||
vikṛtasvararūpāṇi bhṛśaṃ sarvāṇy acodayan ||
tena śabdena mahatā samudre parvatopamāḥ ||
āplavanta gataiḥ sattvair matsyāḥ śatasahasraśaḥ ||
tato vegena mahatā dānavā mām upādravan ||
vimuñcantaḥ śitān bāṇāñ śataśo 'tha sahasraśaḥ ||
sa saṃprahāras tumulas teṣāṃ mama ca bhārata ||
avartata mahāghoro nivātakavacāntakaḥ ||
tato devarṣayaś caiva dānavarṣigaṇāś ca ye ||
brahmarṣayaś ca siddhāś ca samājagmur mahāmṛdhe ||
te vai mām anurūpābhir madhurābhir jayaiṣiṇaḥ ||
astuvan munayo vāgbhir yathendraṃ tārakāmaye ||
"Mātali, guiding the horses many times along the chariot paths, brought them out onto level ground. Because of their speed and swiftness I could then see almost nothing: it seemed a marvel to me. The dānavas arrayed there many troops of warriors, terrible in voice and form. From their great clamor, hundreds of thousands of fish in the ocean, huge as mountains, leapt up together with the other sea creatures. Then with tremendous speed the dānavas rushed upon me, loosing hundreds and thousands of sharp arrows. Between them and me there arose a tumultuous, terrible battle, which became the destruction of the Nivātakavacas. Then to witness the great battle came the devarṣis, the hosts of dānavarṣis, the brahmarṣis and the siddhas. Wishing me victory, the sages praised me with sweet and fitting words, as Indra was praised in the war with Tāraka."
7f0f7e16364c · published Jul 16, 2026, 5:13:49 PM UTC
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Sages from many worlds become witnesses to the battle. Arjuna's cause concerns not personal enmity but the balance of the universe, and so it is watched and weighed by beings above the human sphere.