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Mahabharata · 7.77.22–23
॥
Санджая
Devanāgarī
इत्य् एवं वादिनौ हृष्टौ कृष्णौ श्वेतान् हयोत्तमान् ॥
प्रेषयाम् आसतुः संख्ये प्रेप्सन्तौ तं नराधिपम् ॥
तयोः समीपं संप्राप्य पुत्रस् ते भरतर्षभ ॥
न चकार भयं प्राप्ते भये महति मारिष ॥
Transliteration (IAST)
ity evaṃ vādinau hṛṣṭau kṛṣṇau śvetān hayottamān ||
preṣayām āsatuḥ saṃkhye prepsantau taṃ narādhipam ||
tayoḥ samīpaṃ saṃprāpya putras te bharatarṣabha ||
na cakāra bhayaṃ prāpte bhaye mahati māriṣa ||
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
इति एवम् वादिनौ हृष्टौiti evam vādinau hṛṣṭauso speaking, the two joyful; so speaking, the two joyful
कृष्णौ श्वेतान् हयोत्तमान्kṛṣṇau śvetān hayottamānKrishnas, the best of white horses; Krishnas, the best white horses
प्रेषयाम् आसतुः संख्येpreṣayām āsatuḥ saṃkhyedrove forth in the battle; drove forth in the battle
प्रेप्सन्तौ तम् नराधिपम्prepsantau tam narādhipameager to overtake that king; eager to overtake that king
तयोः समीपम् संप्राप्यtayoḥ samīpam saṃprāpyahaving reached their proximity; having reached their proximity
पुत्रः ते भरतर्षभputraḥ te bharatarṣabhayour son, O bull [of the] Bharata [race]; your son, O bull-Bharata
न चकार भयम् प्राप्तेna cakāra bhayam prāpteshowed no fear, though [it] had come; showed no fear, though it had come
भये महति मारिषbhaye mahati māriṣagreat fear, O venerable one; great fear, O venerable one
Translation
So speaking, the two joyful Krishnas drove forth the best of white horses into the battle, eager to overtake that king. Having come near them, your son, O bull of the Bharata race, showed no fear, though a great terror had come upon him, O venerable one.
Version
28a9c88f9084 · published Jul 19, 2026, 3:52:56 PM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
Duryodhana "na cakāra bhayam," showed no fear, though before him stood the two Krishnas. The poem gives him his due even here: a coward in intrigue, he is not timid in open battle. It is telling that this impartiality grants courage even to the guilty one. The verse teaches truthfulness even in depicting the unrighteous: Duryodhana deserves condemnation for his deeds, yet his courage is not denied him; and an honest gaze distinguishes the vice of a deed from the valor of a character, refusing to merge them into a single condemnation.