Shloka 33
Yoga-māyā Appears as Durgā; Kaṁsa’s Repentance and the Demonic Policy of Persecuting Vaiṣṇavas
अस्यतस्ते शरव्रातैर्हन्यमाना: समन्तत: । जिजीविषव उत्सृज्य पलायनपरा ययु: ॥ ३३ ॥
asyatas te śara-vrātair hanyamānāḥ samantataḥ jijīviṣava utsṛjya palāyana-parā yayuḥ
While being pierced by your arrows, which you discharged on all sides, some of them, who were injured by the multitude of arrows but who desired to live, fled the battlefield, intent on escaping.
FAQs
It says that when a warrior showered arrows, the opposing side—wounded from all directions—gave up the fight out of fear for their lives and fled.
Śukadeva Gosvāmī is narrating this verse to Mahārāja Parīkṣit as part of the Canto 10 storyline.
When fear dominates and the goal becomes mere self-preservation, people abandon principle; the verse encourages steadiness and dharmic resolve instead of panic-driven choices.