iti karṇaḥ śalo bhūrir
yajñaketuḥ suyodhanaḥ
sÄmbam Ärebhire yoddhuá¹
kuru-vá¹›ddhÄnumoditÄḥ
iti - saying this; karṇaḥ Å›alaḥ bhÅ«riḥ - Karṇa, Åšala and BhÅ«ri (Saumadatti); yajñaketuḥ suyodhanaḥ - Yajñaketu (BhÅ«riÅ›ravÄ) and Duryodhana; sÄmbam - against SÄmba; Ärebhire - they set out; yoddhum - to fight; kuru-vá¹›ddha - by the elder of the Kurus (BhÄ«á¹£ma); anumoditÄḥ - sanctioned.
After saying this and having their plan sanctioned by the senior member of the Kuru dynasty, Karṇa, Åšala, BhÅ«ri, Yajñaketu and Suyodhana set out to attack SÄmba.
ÅšrÄ«la ViÅ›vanÄtha CakravartÄ« ṬhÄkura explains that the elder of the Kurus mentioned here is BhÄ«á¹£ma, who gave permission to the younger men as follows: “Since this maiden has now been touched by SÄmba, she cannot take any other husband. He must become her husband. Nonetheless, you should arrest him and tie him up to make a statement about his impropriety and our own prowess. But in no case should he be killed.†The ÄcÄrya also adds that BhÄ«á¹£ma accompanied the five warriors mentioned in this verse.
