Shloka 48
Adhyaya 2 — The Wise Birds
न गन्तव्यं निवर्तध्वं कस्माद् व्रजथ कातराः ।
उत्सृज्य शौर्ययशसी क्व गताः न मरिष्यथ ॥
na gantavyaṃ nivartadhvaṃ kasmād vrajatha kātarāḥ | utsṛjya śauryayaśasī kva gatā na mariṣyatha ||
“যেও না—ফিরে এসো! কাপুরুষের মতো কেন পালাচ্ছ? বীরত্ব ও মান ত্যাগ করে কোথায় যাবে, যেখানে মৃত্যু হবে না?”
{ "primaryRasa": "vira", "secondaryRasa": "raudra", "rasaIntensity": 0, "emotionalArcPosition": "", "moodDescriptors": [] }
FAQs
The verse argues that fleeing out of fear is both dishonorable and futile: death is inescapable, so one should uphold dharma with courage rather than abandon one’s duty for temporary safety.
This is not a direct pancalakṣaṇa unit (sarga/pratisarga/vaṃśa/manvantara/vaṃśānucarita). It belongs to vaṃśānucarita-style narrative/ethical exhortation within the Purāṇic storytelling frame.
On a symbolic level, ‘turn back’ can be read as returning from tamas (panic, collapse of will) to sattva (steadiness) and dharmic resolve; the reminder of universal mortality cuts delusion and forces right action without attachment to mere survival.