visphūrjya—twangingruciram—attractivecāpam—his bowsarvān—all of themvivyādha—he piercedsāyakaiḥ—with his arrowskarṇa - ādīn—Karṇa and the othersṣaṭ—sixrathān—the chariotsvīraḥ—the hero, Sāmbatāvadbhiḥ—with as manyyugapat—simultaneouslypṛthak—each individuallycaturbhiḥ—with four (arrows)caturaḥ—the fourvāhān—horses (of each chariot)eka - ekena—with one eachca—andsārathīn—the chariot driversrathinaḥ—the warriors commanding the chariotsca—andmahā - iṣu - āsān—great bowmentasya—histat—thatte—theyabhyapūjayan—honored .
Blended reading (Sanskrit + English inline)
visphūrjya ruciraṁ cāpaṁ
visphūrjya
twanging
ruciram
attractive
cāpam
his bow
sarvān vivyādha sāyakaiḥ
sarvān
all of them
vivyādha
he pierced
sāyakaiḥ
with his arrows
karṇādīn ṣaḍ rathān vīras
karṇa - ādīn
Karṇa and the others
ṣaṭ
six
rathān
the chariots
vīraḥ
the hero, Sāmba
tāvadbhir yugapat pṛthak
tāvadbhiḥ
with as many
yugapat
simultaneously
pṛthak
each individually
caturbhiś caturo vāhān
caturbhiḥ
with four (arrows)
caturaḥ
the four
vāhān
horses (of each chariot)
ekaikena ca sārathīn
eka - ekena
with one each
ca
and
sārathīn
the chariot drivers
rathinaś ca maheṣvāsāṁs
rathinaḥ
the warriors commanding the chariots
ca
and
mahā - iṣu - āsān
great bowmen
tasya tat te ’bhyapūjayan
tasya
his
tat
that
te
they
abhyapūjayan
honored .
Important Words
visphūrjya—twanging (the bow)
The thrum of a war-bow being drawn taut. In Vedic poetry this single sound is the announcement that a warrior has not surrendered.
vivyādha—he pierced
From vyadh, 'to strike.' Sāmba's marksmanship is precise — one arrow per driver, four per team, six per opponent. The numbers are kṣatriya artistry, not slaughter.
mahā - iṣu - āsān—great bowmen
Iṣu-āsa = 'arrow-thrower' = bowman. mahā- amplifies — these are senior champions. That a lone youth answered all six is what makes them honor him in the next breath.
abhyapūjayan—they honored
Even the Kurus, in the moment, salute his skill. Kṣatriya etiquette demands acknowledging excellence in an enemy — though it will not stop them from taking him by foul means.
Twanging his wonderful bow, heroic Sāmba struck with arrows the six warriors headed by Karṇa. He pierced the six chariots with as many arrows, each team of four horses with four arrows, and each chariot driver with a single arrow, and he similarly struck the great bowmen who commanded the chariots. The enemy warriors congratulated Sāmba for this display of prowess.
Purport
Śrīla Prabhupāda comments: “While Sāmba was so diligently fighting alone with the six great warriors, they all appreciated the inconceivable potency of the boy. Even in the midst of fighting, they admitted frankly that this boy Sāmba was wonderful.”
— A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Gauḍīya Ācāryas
Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura
Gauḍīya
Translation
Twanging his wonderful bow, heroic Sāmba struck with arrows the six warriors headed by Karṇa. He pierced the six chariots with as many arrows, each team of four horses with four arrows, and each chariot driver with a single arrow, and he similarly struck the great bowmen who commanded the chariots. The enemy warriors congratulated Sāmba for this display of prowess.
Commentary
Successively he shot four arrows at each of the four horses of each chariot. They praised him for this act.
Jīva Gosvāmī
Gauḍīya
Commentary
He drew his bow fully in a splendid manner (ruciram). He pierced the six chariots with six arrows. They all praised him simultaneously (abhi—apūjayan).
Śrīdhara Svāmī
Gauḍīya
Commentary
He drew his attractive (ruciram) bow fully. This is mentioned twice to indicate its beauty. Or he drew the bow attractively. He pierced the six chariots with six arrows, because he was capable of fighting (vīraḥ). The bowmen were very courageous (maheṣvāsān). They all praised him simultaneously (abhi—apūjayan), saying “Very good!” since warriors become joyful on seeing the great bravery of another warrior. Another version has mahesvāsāḥ: even the archers praised him because they could not do as he did, even though they had huge chariots.
A single archer answering six bows — bow against bow, horse against horse, driver against driver — like one flame meeting six wicks and refusing to be the one that goes out first.