Shloka 23
गदायुद्धप्रतिज्ञा — The Vow and Terms of the Mace Duel
स कथं कौरवे वंशे प्रशंसन् जन्म चात्मन: । युद्धाद् भीतस्ततस्तोयं प्रविश्य प्रतितिष्ठसि,“तुम तो कौरववंशमें उत्पन्न होनेके कारण अपने जन्मकी प्रशंसा करते थे। फिर आज युद्धसे डरकर पानीके भीतर कैसे घुसे बैठे हो?
sa kathaṃ kaurave vaṃśe praśaṃsan janma cātmanaḥ | yuddhād bhītastatastoyaṃ praviśya pratitiṣṭhasi ||
Sañjaya sprach: „Wie kommt es, dass du, der du einst deine Geburt im Kuru-Geschlecht rühmtest und deine Herkunft priesest, nun — vor der Schlacht erschrocken — ins Wasser geglitten bist und dich dort verborgen hältst?“
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse critiques empty pride in noble birth when it is not matched by courage and duty in crisis; lineage is shown as ethically meaningful only when upheld through conduct, especially in the face of fear.
Sanjaya reports a taunting rebuke directed at a Kaurava who had earlier gloried in his Kuru birth but, terrified by the fighting, has entered the water to hide and is staying there instead of facing battle.