ततो दुर्योधनो राजा वाक्यम् आदाय तस्य तत् ॥
वैकर्तनस्य कर्णस्य क्षिप्रम् आज्ञापयत् स्वयम् ॥
शासने नित्यसंयुक्तं दुःशासनम् अनन्तरम् ॥
सह वृद्धैस् तु संमन्त्र्य क्षिप्रं योजय वाहिनीम् ॥
यथोद्देशं च गच्छामः सहिताः सर्वकौरवैः ॥
सुशर्मा तु यथोद्दिष्टं देशं यातु महारथः ॥
त्रिगर्तैः सहितो राजा समग्रबलवाहनः ॥
प्राग् एव हि सुसंवीतो मत्स्यस्य विषयं प्रति ॥
जघन्यतो वयं तत्र यास्यामो दिवसान्तरम् ॥
विषयं मत्स्यराजस्य सुसमृद्धं सुसंहताः ॥
ते यात्वा सहसा तत्र विराटनगरं प्रति ॥
क्षिप्रं गोपान् समासाद्य गृह्णन्तु विपुलं धनम् ॥
गवां शतसहस्राणि श्रीमन्ति गुणवन्ति च ॥
वयम् अपि निगृह्णीमो द्विधा कृत्वा वरूथिनीम् ॥
स स्म गत्वा यथोद्दिष्टां दिशं वह्नेर् महीपतिः ॥
आदत्त गाः सुशर्माथ घर्मपक्षस्य सप्तमीम् ॥
अपरं दिवसं सर्वे राजन् संभूय कौरवाः ॥
अष्टम्यां तान्य् अगृह्णन्त गोकुलानि सहस्रशः ॥
tato duryodhano rājā vākyam ādāya tasya tat ||
vaikartanasya karṇasya kṣipram ājñāpayat svayam ||
śāsane nityasaṃyuktaṃ duḥśāsanam anantaram ||
saha vṛddhais tu saṃmantrya kṣipraṃ yojaya vāhinīm ||
yathoddeśaṃ ca gacchāmaḥ sahitāḥ sarvakauravaiḥ ||
suśarmā tu yathoddiṣṭaṃ deśaṃ yātu mahārathaḥ ||
trigartaiḥ sahito rājā samagrabalavāhanaḥ ||
prāg eva hi susaṃvīto matsyasya viṣayaṃ prati ||
jaghanyato vayaṃ tatra yāsyāmo divasāntaram ||
viṣayaṃ matsyarājasya susamṛddhaṃ susaṃhatāḥ ||
te yātvā sahasā tatra virāṭanagaraṃ prati ||
kṣipraṃ gopān samāsādya gṛhṇantu vipulaṃ dhanam ||
gavāṃ śatasahasrāṇi śrīmanti guṇavanti ca ||
vayam api nigṛhṇīmo dvidhā kṛtvā varūthinīm ||
sa sma gatvā yathoddiṣṭāṃ diśaṃ vahner mahīpatiḥ ||
ādatta gāḥ suśarmātha gharmapakṣasya saptamīm ||
aparaṃ divasaṃ sarve rājan saṃbhūya kauravāḥ ||
aṣṭamyāṃ tāny agṛhṇanta gokulāni sahasraśaḥ ||
Then king Duryodhana, taking up this word of Karna, son of Vikartana, himself swiftly commanded Duhshasana, ever attentive to orders: "Having taken counsel with the elders, swiftly array the army. We shall all go together with all the Kauravas to the appointed place. And let the great chariot-warrior Susharman go to the designated country together with the Trigartas, with his whole force and army, well guarded in advance, toward the land of Matsya. We shall follow a day later into the rich and united kingdom of the king of the Matsyas. Arriving there suddenly, at the city of Virata, let them swiftly reach the cowherds and seize great wealth. We too shall capture hundreds of thousands of splendid, well-bred cows, dividing the army in two." And king Susharman went in the appointed direction of Agni and took the cows on the seventh day of the dark fortnight. And on the following day, O king, all the Kauravas, gathering together, on the eighth day seized thousands of herds of cattle.
4e54e9f48b1d · published Jul 16, 2026, 6:17:35 PM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
The plan rests on splitting the blow: the Trigartas from one side, the Kauravas from the other. Thus the outward threat arrives exactly when the hidden year has ripened toward its end.