FolioCorpusŚrīmad-Bhāgavatam

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.68.6

द‍ृष्ट्वानुधावत: साम्बो धार्तराष्ट्रान् महारथ: । प्रगृह्य रुचिरं चापं तस्थौ सिंह इवैकल: ॥ ६ ॥
dṛṣṭvānudhāvataḥ sāmbo
[drishtvaanudhaavatah saambo]
dhārtarāṣṭrān mahā-rathaḥ
[dhaartaraashtraan mahaa-rathah]
pragṛhya ruciraṁ cāpaṁ
[pragrihya ruchiram chaapam]
tasthau siṁha ivaikalaḥ
[tasthau simha ivaikalah]
Word-for-word
dṛṣṭvā — seeing anudhāvataḥ — who were rushing toward him sāmbaḥ — Sāmba dhārtarāṣṭrān — the followers of Dhṛtarāṣṭra mahārathaḥ — the great chariot-fighter pragṛhya — seizing ruciram — beautiful cāpam — his bow tasthau — he stood siṁhaḥ — a lion iva — like ekalaḥ — all alone .
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
dṛṣṭvānudhāvataḥ sāmbo
dṛṣṭvā
seeing
anudhāvataḥ
who were rushing toward him
sāmbaḥ
Sāmba
dhārtarāṣṭrān mahā-rathaḥ
dhārtarāṣṭrān
the followers of Dhṛtarāṣṭra
mahārathaḥ
the great chariot-fighter
pragṛhya ruciraṁ cāpaṁ
pragṛhya
seizing
ruciram
beautiful
cāpam
his bow
tasthau siṁha ivaikalaḥ
tasthau
he stood
siṁhaḥ
a lion
iva
like
ekalaḥ
all alone .
Important Words
  • mahārathaḥ — great chariot-warrior
    A technical kṣatriya rank — one able to fight ten thousand opponents at once. Even alone, Sāmba meets the Kuru six as a mahāratha.
  • siṁhaḥ — a lion
    The chosen simile. The Bhāgavatam often paints Kṛṣṇa's family as lions — Balarāma in 10.65, Kṛṣṇa Himself many times. The lion-blood is generational.
  • ekalaḥ — all alone
    Alone in body, not alone in protection. Behind every alone-standing devotee stands the Lord — a structural truth this chapter will demonstrate.
  • cāpam — bow
    Sāmba's weapon throughout the fight. It will be broken in verse 11, leaving him bare — and only then will his real protection (Balarāma) be revealed.
Seeing Duryodhana and his companions rushing toward him, Sāmba, the great chariot-fighter, took up his splendid bow and stood alone like a lion.
Gauḍīya Ācāryas
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura Gauḍīya
Translation
Seeing Duryodhana and his companions rushing toward him, Sāmba, the great chariot-fighter, took up his splendid bow and stood alone like a lion.
Jīva Gosvāmī Gauḍīya
Commentary

Sāmba took up his bow diligently (pra—gṛhya), stringing it.

Śrīdhara Svāmī Gauḍīya
Commentary

Seeing Duryodhana and others rushing after him, Sāmba took up his bow attractive since derived from the Sārṅga, stringing it. This illustrates his firmness in battle. He stood alone because he was the best of warriors (mahārathaḥ), like a lion, fearless.

Related values & verses
Related values
Anahankarah (Freedom from False Ego)
Related verses
BG 15.9 BG 9.1 BG 4.8 BG 10.1 BG 18.64 BG 15.7 BG 2.62 BG 3.11 BG 10.4 BG 12.3 BG 15.2 SB 4.29.2 BG 2.21 BG 16.1 BG 9.11 BG 3.30 BG 7.1 BG 2.66
Concepts
Jiva
Related lectures
Personal Guidance
Sāmba stood alone like a lion against six warriors. There are moments when conviction means standing without backup; readiness to do so is itself a kind of devotion.
Reflection Questions
  • When was the last time I had to stand alone for something I believed?
  • What strength do I draw on when no one is beside me?
Analogy

A single lion at the forest's edge, bow in hand instead of claws — Sāmba alone against six chariots, unshaken because Kṛṣṇa's blood does not learn fear.

Stories
Abhimanyu in the Cakra-vyūha

Sāmba's grandson-generation cousin Abhimanyu — son of Subhadrā by Arjuna, and therefore also a Yādava-Kuru child — would later enter the cakra-vyūha alone against six mahā-rathas at Kurukṣetra. The pattern recurs: a single Yādava youth facing a ring of Kuru champions, his courage drawn from kinship with Kṛṣṇa.

Abhimanyu fell; Sāmba was captured. In both cases the surrounding adults' politics were the real failure — the boys themselves fought as lions.

📝 My note

Source: vedabase.io

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