सात्यकिः कृतवर्माणं वारयित्वा महारथः ॥
शरैर् बहुविधै राजन्न् आससाद पितामहम् ॥
स विद्ध्वा भारतं षष्ट्या निशितैर् लोमवाहिभिः ॥
ननर्तेव रथोपस्थे विधुन्वानो महद् धनुः ॥
तस्यायसीं महाशक्तिं चिक्षेपाथ पितामहः ॥
हेमचित्रां महावेगां नागकन्योपमां शुभाम् ॥
ताम् आपतन्तीं सहसा मृत्युकल्पां सुतेजनाम् ॥
ध्वंसयाम् आस वार्ष्णेयो लाघवेन महायशाः ॥
अनासाद्य तु वार्ष्णेयं शक्तिः परमदारुणा ॥
न्यपतद् धरणीपृष्ठे महोल्केव गतप्रभा ॥
वार्ष्णेयस् तु ततो राजन् स्वां शक्तिं घोरदर्शनाम् ॥
वेगवद् गृह्य चिक्षेप पितामहरथं प्रति ॥
वार्ष्णेयभुजवेगेन प्रणुन्ना सा महाहवे ॥
अभिदुद्राव वेगेन कालरात्रिर् यथा नरम् ॥
ताम् आपतन्तीं सहसा द्विधा चिच्छेद भारत ॥
क्षुरप्राभ्यां सुतीक्ष्णाभ्यां सान्वकीर्यत भूतले ॥
छित्त्वा तु शक्तिं गाङ्गेयः सात्यकिं नवभिः शरैः ॥
आजघानोरसि क्रुद्धः प्रहसञ् शत्रुकर्शनः ॥
ततः सरथनागाश्वाः पाण्डवाः पाण्डुपूर्वज ॥
परिवव्रू रणे भीष्मं माधवत्राणकारणात् ॥
ततः प्रववृते युद्धं तुमुलं लोमहर्षणम् ॥
पाण्डवानां कुरूणां च समरे विजयैषिणाम् ॥
sātyakiḥ kṛtavarmāṇaṃ vārayitvā mahārathaḥ ||
śarair bahuvidhai rājann āsasāda pitāmaham ||
sa viddhvā bhārataṃ ṣaṣṭyā niśitair lomavāhibhiḥ ||
nanarteva rathopasthe vidhunvāno mahad dhanuḥ ||
tasyāyasīṃ mahāśaktiṃ cikṣepātha pitāmahaḥ ||
hemacitrāṃ mahāvegāṃ nāgakanyopamāṃ śubhām ||
tām āpatantīṃ sahasā mṛtyukalpāṃ sutejanām ||
dhvaṃsayām āsa vārṣṇeyo lāghavena mahāyaśāḥ ||
anāsādya tu vārṣṇeyaṃ śaktiḥ paramadāruṇā ||
nyapatad dharaṇīpṛṣṭhe maholkeva gataprabhā ||
vārṣṇeyas tu tato rājan svāṃ śaktiṃ ghoradarśanām ||
vegavad gṛhya cikṣepa pitāmaharathaṃ prati ||
vārṣṇeyabhujavegena praṇunnā sā mahāhave ||
abhidudrāva vegena kālarātrir yathā naram ||
tām āpatantīṃ sahasā dvidhā ciccheda bhārata ||
kṣuraprābhyāṃ sutīkṣṇābhyāṃ sānvakīryata bhūtale ||
chittvā tu śaktiṃ gāṅgeyaḥ sātyakiṃ navabhiḥ śaraiḥ ||
ājaghānorasi kruddhaḥ prahasañ śatrukarśanaḥ ||
tataḥ sarathanāgāśvāḥ pāṇḍavāḥ pāṇḍupūrvaja ||
parivavrū raṇe bhīṣmaṃ mādhavatrāṇakāraṇāt ||
tataḥ pravavṛte yuddhaṃ tumulaṃ lomaharṣaṇam ||
pāṇḍavānāṃ kurūṇāṃ ca samare vijayaiṣiṇām ||
Satyaki, the great chariot-warrior, having checked Kritavarman with arrows of many kinds, O king, approached the grandsire. Having pierced Bharata-Bhishma with sixty sharp, feathered arrows, he seemed to dance on the platform of his chariot, brandishing his great bow. Then the grandsire hurled at him his great iron shakti, gold-patterned, swift-flying, lovely as a serpent-maiden. The greatly renowned Varshneya, by his skill, shattered that deadly, blazing weapon as it suddenly flew at him. Not reaching Varshneya, the exceedingly dreadful shakti fell to the ground, like a great meteor whose glow has gone out. Then Varshneya, O king, swiftly seized his own dreadful shakti and hurled it at the grandsire's chariot. Driven by the force of Varshneya's arm, it rushed forward in the great battle with the speed of the night of death coming upon a man. But Bhishma, O Bharata, cut it in two as it suddenly flew at him, with two very sharp razor-arrows, and it scattered in pieces upon the ground. Having cut the shakti, the son of Ganga, enraged, struck Satyaki in the chest with nine arrows, smiling as he did so, that tormentor of foes. Then the Pandavas, with their chariots, elephants and horses, O descendant of Pandu, surrounded Bhishma in the battle to protect Madhava. Then a tumultuous, hair-raising battle broke out between the Pandavas and the Kurus, both sides seeking victory on the field.
0119a07e6aee · published Jul 17, 2026, 9:47:12 PM UTC
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Satyaki boldly confronts Bhishma, but Bhishma answers with seasoned precision: both heavy spears come to nothing. The Pandavas' defense of Satyaki shows how quickly a single duel draws the whole battle into one knot.