Shloka 2
Droṇa-parva Adhyāya 114 — Karṇa–Bhīmasena Missile Exchange, Disarmament, and Arjuna’s Intervention
अपवादं हाात्मनश्न लोकात् पश्यन् विशेषत: । ते मां भीतमिति ब्रूयुरायान्तं फाल्गुनं प्रति,संजय कहते हैं--राजन! धर्मराजका वह कथन सुनकर शिनिप्रवर सात्यकिके मनमें राजाको छोड़कर जानेसे अर्जुनके अप्रसन्न होनेकी आशंका उत्पन्न हुई। विशेषतः उन्हें अपने लिये लोकापवादका भय दिखायी देने लगा। वे सोचने लगे--मुझे अर्जुनकी ओर आते देख सब लोग यही कहेंगे कि यह डरकर भाग आया है
sañjaya uvāca | apavādaṃ hātmanaś ca lokāt paśyan viśeṣataḥ | te māṃ bhītam iti brūyur āyāntaṃ phālgunaṃ prati ||
Sañjaya said: “O King, seeing—most particularly—the danger of public reproach against himself, he reflected: ‘If people see me going toward Phālguna, they will say, “He is coming in fear.”’ Thus the anxiety of blame and the need to preserve honour weighed upon him in this moment of war.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical pressure of public opinion (loka-apavāda): in a warrior culture, actions are judged not only by intent but by how they appear. Fear of being labeled cowardly becomes a moral and social constraint shaping conduct in war.
Sañjaya reports an inner calculation: the person in focus anticipates that if he moves toward Arjuna (Phālguna), onlookers will interpret it as retreat out of fear. The immediate tension is between practical movement and the stigma of cowardice.