Mahabharata — Shalya Parva, Shloka 493
अध्याय ३: कृपस्य दुर्योधनं प्रति नीत्युपदेशः
Kṛpa’s Counsel to Duryodhana
दुर्योधन: स्वकं सैन्यमपश्यद् भृशविक्षतम् | दुर्योधनने देखा कि मेरी सेना अत्यन्त घायल हो रणभूमिसे पलायन करनेका विचार रखकर भाग रही है, परंतु अधिक दूर नहीं गयी है
duryodhanaḥ svakaṃ sainyam apaśyad bhṛśa-vikṣatam |
Sañjaya said: Duryodhana saw his own army grievously wounded. Seeing them in distress and breaking formation, he understood that they were thinking of fleeing the battlefield—though they had not yet gone far. The scene underscores how adharma-driven ambition, when pressed by the consequences of war, turns even a vast host toward fear and retreat.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
When leadership is rooted in unrighteous ambition, the inevitable suffering of war erodes courage and cohesion; even a powerful force can collapse into fear, revealing the moral and practical cost of adharma.
Sañjaya reports that Duryodhana observes his own troops badly wounded and beginning to break away with thoughts of fleeing; they are retreating in panic, though not yet far from the battlefield.
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