पितामहो हि कुशलः परेषाम् आत्मनस् तथा ॥
श्रोतुम् इच्छाम्य् अहं सर्वैः सहैभिर् वसुधाधिपैः ॥
भीष्म उवाच
गान्धारे शृणु राजेन्द्र रथसंख्यां स्वके बले ॥
ये रथाः पृथिवीपाल तथैवातिरथाश् च ये ॥
बहूनीह सहस्राणि प्रयुतान्य् अर्बुदानि च ॥
रथानां तव सेनायां यथामुख्यं तु मे शृणु ॥
भवान् अग्रे रथोदारः सह सर्वैः सहोदरैः ॥
दुःशासनप्रभृतिभिर् भ्रातृभिः शतसंमितैः ॥
सर्वे कृतप्रहरणाश् छेद्यभेद्यविशारदाः ॥
रथोपस्थे गजस्कन्धे गदायुद्धे ऽसिचर्मणि ॥
pitāmaho hi kuśalaḥ pareṣām ātmanas tathā ||
śrotum icchāmy ahaṃ sarvaiḥ sahaibhir vasudhādhipaiḥ ||
bhīṣma uvāca
gāndhāre śṛṇu rājendra rathasaṃkhyāṃ svake bale ||
ye rathāḥ pṛthivīpāla tathaivātirathāś ca ye ||
bahūnīha sahasrāṇi prayutāny arbudāni ca ||
rathānāṃ tava senāyāṃ yathāmukhyaṃ tu me śṛṇu ||
bhavān agre rathodāraḥ saha sarvaiḥ sahodaraiḥ ||
duḥśāsanaprabhṛtibhir bhrātṛbhiḥ śatasaṃmitaiḥ ||
sarve kṛtapraharaṇāś chedyabhedyaviśāradāḥ ||
rathopasthe gajaskandhe gadāyuddhe 'sicarmaṇi ||
'For grandfather is skilled regarding both the enemy's forces and our own; I wish to hear this together with all these lords of the earth.' Bhishma said: 'Listen, O foremost of kings, to the count of the chariot-warriors in your own army, O son of Gandhari -- who are the rathas, O guardian of the earth, and who are the atirathas. In your army there are many thousands, tens of thousands, and arbudas of chariot-warriors; hear from me now of the foremost among them. You yourself stand first, a noble chariot-warrior, together with all your full brothers, beginning with Duhshasana, numbering about a hundred. All of them are skilled in arms, expert in cutting and piercing, on the platform of the chariot, on the back of an elephant, in combat with maces, and in fighting with sword and shield.'
4207102ab484 · published Jul 17, 2026, 6:32:37 AM UTC
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Here begins the sober reckoning of forces before the war. Dhritarashtra already senses the outcome: Arjuna's vow to kill Bhishma sounds to him like an almost accomplished fact. Bhishma, for his part, accepts the command without self-praise: he knows the science of war, yet does not conceal that war demands order, measure, and a clear understanding of every warrior. The listing of the rathas and atirathas shows not only the army's strength but also a web of personal debts, grievances, and choices that brought these men to Kurukshetra.