Shloka 5
युधिष्ठिरस्य कृष्णार्जुनादि-समाश्वासनम्
Yudhiṣṭhira’s reassurance and praise of Kṛṣṇa, Arjuna, Bhīma, and Sātyaki
न सन्ति पतय: सर्वे तेडद्य षण्ढतिलै: समा | दुःशासनैवं कस्मात् त्वं पूर्वमुकत्वा पलायसे,“अब तेरे सम्पूर्ण पति थोथे तिलोंके समान नहींके बराबर हो गये हैं।” पहले ऐसी बातें कहकर अब तुम युद्धसे भाग क्यों रहे हो?
sañjaya uvāca | na santi patayaḥ sarve te ’dya ṣaṇḍhatilaiḥ samāḥ | duḥśāsana evaṁ kasmāt tvaṁ pūrvam uktvā palāyase ||
Sañjaya said: “You once taunted: ‘All those husbands of yours are no more today—reduced to nothing, like hollow sesame seeds.’ O Duḥśāsana, after speaking such words earlier, why do you now flee from the battle?”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical weight of speech and the warrior code: one who boasts or humiliates others must be prepared to stand by those words in action. Fleeing after earlier taunts is portrayed as a collapse of honor and kshatriya-duty.
Sanjaya reports a rebuke directed at Duhshasana: after previously insulting an opponent by declaring their ‘husbands’ (protectors/allies) to be worthless, Duhshasana is now seen retreating from combat, and is challenged for this inconsistency and cowardice.