संजय उवाच
ऋश्यवर्णैर् हयैर् दृष्ट्वा व्यायच्छन्तं वृकोदरम् ॥
रजताश्वस् ततः शूरः शैनेयः संन्यवर्तत ॥
दर्शनीयास् तु काम्बोजाः शुकपत्रपरिच्छदाः ॥
वहन्तो नकुलं शीघ्रं तावकान् अभिदुद्रुवुः ॥
कृष्णास् तु मेघसंकाशाः सहदेवम् उदायुधम् ॥
भीमवेगा नरव्याघ्रम् अवहन् वातरंहसः ॥
saṃjaya uvāca
ṛśyavarṇair hayair dṛṣṭvā vyāyacchantaṃ vṛkodaram ||
rajatāśvas tataḥ śūraḥ śaineyaḥ saṃnyavartata ||
darśanīyās tu kāmbojāḥ śukapatraparicchadāḥ ||
vahanto nakulaṃ śīghraṃ tāvakān abhidudruvuḥ ||
kṛṣṇās tu meghasaṃkāśāḥ sahadevam udāyudham ||
bhīmavegā naravyāghram avahan vātaraṃhasaḥ ||
Catching sight of Vrikodara fighting fiercely on horses the color of the antelope, then the warrior Shaineya on silvery horses turned toward him. Comely Kamboja horses, colored like a parrot's feather, swiftly carrying Nakula, charged at your warriors. And dark horses resembling clouds, fiercely swift, wind-footed, carried Sahadeva, the tiger among men, his weapon upraised.
e6611be2bdfd · published Jul 19, 2026, 3:11:21 PM UTC
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The parade opens with three champions, each recognizable by the color of his horses: antelope-hued for Bhima, silvery for Satyaki, parrot-green for Nakula, storm-cloud-dark for Sahadeva. The horses here are not mere animals but almost an extension of the rider, a visible sign of his nature: turbulent ones for impetuous Bhima, cloud-like ones for Sahadeva, dark as a storm. It is telling that the account delights in this variety of color, like a painter with his palette. The verse teaches that in a great undertaking it is not faceless forces that meet, but individual people, each with his own appearance and bearing; that the outward -- coloring, adornment -- often echoes the inward; and that the army of truth is beautiful not through uniformity but through the concord of many different ones joined for a common cause.