Mahabharata — Shalya Parva, Shloka 7
शल्यस्य पाण्डवसेनापीडनम् — Śalya’s Assault on the Pāṇḍava Host
with Omens and Bhīma’s Counter
मद्रराजं तु समरे दृष्टवा युद्धाय धिष्ठितम् । कुरव: संन्यवर्तन्त मृत्युं कृत्वा निवर्तनम्
madrarājaṃ tu samare dṛṣṭvā yuddhāya dhiṣṭhitam | kuravaḥ saṃnyavartanta mṛtyuṃ kṛtvā nivartanam ||
But when the Kurus saw the king of Madra, Śalya, standing firm in the battle, ready to fight, they turned back again—having made death itself the limit of their withdrawal—and returned to the field.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights a warrior-code ideal: steadfastness under a capable leader, where retreat is morally constrained by honor and duty—so much so that death is accepted as the final boundary rather than withdrawal.
Sañjaya reports that the Kaurava troops, seeing Śalya (the Madra king) firmly positioned and ready for combat, regain resolve and return to the battlefield, treating death as preferable to turning away from the fight.
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