एतच् छ्रुत्वा तु वचनं भीष्मस्य पृतनापतेः ॥
प्रययौ सिंहनादेन परान् अभिमुखो द्रुतम् ॥
तम् आद्रवन्तं संप्रेक्ष्य गर्जन्तम् इव तोयदम् ॥
अभ्यवर्तन्त संक्रुद्धाः पाण्डवानां महारथाः ॥
भिमसेनो ऽभिमन्युश् च राक्षसश् च घटोत्कचः ॥
द्रौपदेयाः सत्यधृतिः क्षत्रदेवश् च मारिष ॥
चेदिपो वसुदानश् च दशार्णाधिपतिस् तथा ॥
सुप्रतीकेन तांश् चापि भगदत्तो ऽप्य् उपाद्रवत् ॥
ततः समभवद् युद्धं घोररूपं भयानकम् ॥
पाण्डूनां भगदत्तेन यमराष्ट्रविवर्धनम् ॥
प्रमुक्ता रथिभिर् बाणा भीमवेगाः सुतेजनाः ॥
ते निपेतुर् महाराज नागेषु च रथेषु च ॥
प्रभिन्नाश् च महानागा विनीता हस्तिसादिभिः ॥
परस्परं समासाद्य संनिपेतुर् अभीतवत् ॥
मदान्धा रोषसंरब्धा विषाणाग्रैर् महाहवे ॥
बिभिदुर् दन्तमुसलैः समासाद्य परस्परम् ॥
हयाश् च चामरापीडाः प्रासपाणिभिर् आस्थिताः ॥
चोदिताः सादिभिः क्षिप्रं निपेतुर् इतरेतरम् ॥
पादाताश् च पदात्योघैस् ताडिताः शक्तितोमरैः ॥
न्यपतन्त तदा भूमौ शतशो ऽथ सहस्रशः ॥
रथिनश् च तथा राजन् कर्णिनालीकसायकैः ॥
निहत्य समरे वीरान् सिंहनादान् विनेदिरे ॥
तस्मिंस् तथा वर्तमाने संग्रामे लोमहर्षणे ॥
भगदत्तो महेष्वासो भीमसेनम् अथाद्रवत् ॥
कुञ्जरेण प्रभिन्नेन सप्तधा स्रवता मदम् ॥
पर्वतेन यथा तोयं स्रवमाणेन सर्वतः ॥
किरञ् शरसहस्राणि सुप्रतीकशिरोगतः ॥
ऐरावतस्थो मघवान् वारिधारा इवानघ ॥
स भीमं शरधाराभिस् ताडयाम् आस पार्थिवः ॥
पर्वतं वारिधाराभिः प्रावृषीव बलाहकः ॥
etac chrutvā tu vacanaṃ bhīṣmasya pṛtanāpateḥ ||
prayayau siṃhanādena parān abhimukho drutam ||
tam ādravantaṃ saṃprekṣya garjantam iva toyadam ||
abhyavartanta saṃkruddhāḥ pāṇḍavānāṃ mahārathāḥ ||
bhimaseno 'bhimanyuś ca rākṣasaś ca ghaṭotkacaḥ ||
draupadeyāḥ satyadhṛtiḥ kṣatradevaś ca māriṣa ||
cedipo vasudānaś ca daśārṇādhipatis tathā ||
supratīkena tāṃś cāpi bhagadatto 'py upādravat ||
tataḥ samabhavad yuddhaṃ ghorarūpaṃ bhayānakam ||
pāṇḍūnāṃ bhagadattena yamarāṣṭravivardhanam ||
pramuktā rathibhir bāṇā bhīmavegāḥ sutejanāḥ ||
te nipetur mahārāja nāgeṣu ca ratheṣu ca ||
prabhinnāś ca mahānāgā vinītā hastisādibhiḥ ||
parasparaṃ samāsādya saṃnipetur abhītavat ||
madāndhā roṣasaṃrabdhā viṣāṇāgrair mahāhave ||
bibhidur dantamusalaiḥ samāsādya parasparam ||
hayāś ca cāmarāpīḍāḥ prāsapāṇibhir āsthitāḥ ||
coditāḥ sādibhiḥ kṣipraṃ nipetur itaretaram ||
pādātāś ca padātyoghais tāḍitāḥ śaktitomaraiḥ ||
nyapatanta tadā bhūmau śataśo 'tha sahasraśaḥ ||
rathinaś ca tathā rājan karṇinālīkasāyakaiḥ ||
nihatya samare vīrān siṃhanādān vinedire ||
tasmiṃs tathā vartamāne saṃgrāme lomaharṣaṇe ||
bhagadatto maheṣvāso bhīmasenam athādravat ||
kuñjareṇa prabhinnena saptadhā sravatā madam ||
parvatena yathā toyaṃ sravamāṇena sarvataḥ ||
kirañ śarasahasrāṇi supratīkaśirogataḥ ||
airāvatastho maghavān vāridhārā ivānagha ||
sa bhīmaṃ śaradhārābhis tāḍayām āsa pārthivaḥ ||
parvataṃ vāridhārābhiḥ prāvṛṣīva balāhakaḥ ||
Having heard the words of Bhishma, the commander of the army, Bhagadatta swiftly advanced toward the enemy with a lion's roar. Seeing him charging, thundering like a cloud, the enraged mahārathas of the Pandavas moved to meet him: Bhimasena, Abhimanyu, the rakshasa Ghatotkacha, the sons of Draupadi, Satyadhriti, Kshatradeva, the venerable one, the king of Chedi, Vasudana, and the lord of Dasharna. Bhagadatta, mounted on Supratika, likewise charged at them. Then there arose a terrible and fearsome battle between the Pandavas and Bhagadatta, one that swelled the realm of Yama. Arrows loosed by the charioteers, dreadfully swift and sharp, fell, great king, upon the elephants and chariots. The huge, enraged elephants, trained by their mahouts, closed upon one another and collided without fear. Blinded by must and seized with rage, in the great battle they gored one another with the tips of their tusks as though with maces. Horses with adorned brow-plates, bearing spearmen and swiftly urged on by their riders, fell upon one another. Foot soldiers, struck down by masses of infantry, shaktis, and tomaras, fell then to the ground by the hundreds and thousands. The charioteers too, O king, slaying the heroes in battle with sharp arrows of every kind, let out lion-like roars. While this horrifying battle went on, the great archer Bhagadatta charged at Bhimasena upon his elephant in must, which streamed with rut in seven torrents from every side, as a mountain sheds water. Standing upon the head of Supratika, he showered thousands of arrows, O blameless one, as Maghavan upon Airavata sends down streams of rain. That king struck Bhima with streams of arrows, as a cloud in the rainy season pours torrents of water upon a mountain.
08bcc111c083 · published Jul 17, 2026, 9:47:11 PM UTC
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Bhagadatta enters the fight as a warrior of the old measure: his elephant Supratika is almost equal to a force of nature. The comparison to Indra upon Airavata turns this clash into more than an ordinary duel — it becomes a contest where kshatriya might is expressed through the grandeur of mount and weapon alike.