Санджая
ततः स कृतवर्माणं मोहयित्वार्जुनः शरैः ॥
अभ्यगाज् जवनैर् अश्वैः काम्बोजानाम् अनीकिनीम् ॥
अमर्षितस् तु हार्दिख्यः प्रविष्टे श्वेतवाहने ॥
विधुन्वन् सशरं चापं पाञ्चाल्याभ्यां समागतः ॥
चक्ररक्षौ तु पाञ्चाल्याव् अर्जुनस्य पदानुगौ ॥
पर्यवारयद् आयान्तौ कृतवर्मा रथेषुभिः ॥
tataḥ sa kṛtavarmāṇaṃ mohayitvārjunaḥ śaraiḥ ||
abhyagāj javanair aśvaiḥ kāmbojānām anīkinīm ||
amarṣitas tu hārdikhyaḥ praviṣṭe śvetavāhane ||
vidhunvan saśaraṃ cāpaṃ pāñcālyābhyāṃ samāgataḥ ||
cakrarakṣau tu pāñcālyāv arjunasya padānugau ||
paryavārayad āyāntau kṛtavarmā ratheṣubhiḥ ||
Then, having bewildered Kritavarman with arrows, Arjuna rushed forth on swift horses toward the army of the Kambojas. But the enraged son of Hridika [Kritavarman], once the white-horsed one had passed, shaking his bow with an arrow upon it, met the two Panchalas. And the two Panchalas -- the guardians of the wheel, Arjuna's companions -- as they approached, Kritavarman barred with chariot arrows.
95865aff0f05 · published Jul 19, 2026, 3:45:02 PM UTC
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Kritavarman, unable to stop Arjuna, falls upon his companions -- the "cakrarakṣau", the guardians of the wheel. So untruth, failing to halt the chief adversary, turns its vengeance on the faithful. It is telling that Arjuna's comrades take the blow upon themselves, shielding his path. The verse teaches the worth of faithful companions in a shared cause: while the hero presses toward his goal, his guardians absorb the strikes of those who would bar the way; and the feat of the one who advances rests on the self-giving of those who cover him from behind, drawing the enemy's fury onto themselves.