Shloka 27
द्रौणिप्रतिज्ञा–नारायणास्त्रवर्णनम्
Drauṇi’s Vow and the Description of the Nārāyaṇāstra
राजेन्द्र! तब सारथि अपने कर्तव्यका स्मरण करके उन्हें रणभूमिसे दूर हटा ले गया। पांचालोंके महारथी द्रपदके हट जानेपर बाणोंसे कटे हुए कवचवाली द्रुपदकी सारी सेना उस भयंकर आधीरातके समय वहाँसे भाग चली ।। प्रदीपैर्हि परित्यक्तैज्वलट्धिस्तै: समन््ततः । व्यराजत मही राजन वीताभ्रा द्यौरिव ग्रहै:,राजन! भागते हुए सैनिकोंने जो मशालें फेंक दी थीं, वे सब ओर जल रही थीं। उनके द्वारा वह रणभूमि ग्रह-नक्षत्रोंसे भरे हुए मेघहीन आकाशके समान सुशोभित हो रही थी
sañjaya uvāca | rājendra! tadā sārathiḥ svakartavyasya smaraṇaṃ kṛtvā tān raṇabhūmeḥ dūraṃ apānayat | pāñcālānāṃ mahārathaḥ drupadaḥ nivṛtte (apagate) sati bāṇaiḥ chinnakavacā drupadasya sarvā senā sā bhayānakārdharātrasamaye tataḥ palāyitā || pradīpaiḥ hi parityaktaiḥ jvaladbhiḥ taiḥ samantataḥ | vyarājata mahī rājan vītābhrā dyauḥ iva grahaiḥ ||
Sañjaya said: O king of kings, then the charioteer, recalling his duty, drew them away from the battlefield. When Drupada—the great chariot-warrior of the Pāñcālas—had withdrawn, all Drupada’s army, their armor cut and torn by arrows, fled from that place in the dreadful hour of midnight. For the torches that the fleeing soldiers cast away were burning on every side; by their blaze the earth shone, O king, like a cloudless sky filled with planets and stars.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even amid chaos, one’s dharma is expressed through clear remembrance of duty: the charioteer’s disciplined action—removing the warriors from immediate danger—contrasts with the army’s panic. The verse also hints at the ethical cost of war: fear spreads quickly, and once leadership withdraws, collective morale collapses.
After Drupada withdraws from the fight, his Pāñcāla forces—wounded and with armor cut by arrows—break formation and flee in the terrifying midnight hour. As they run, they throw away their torches; the abandoned torches burn across the field, making the ground glow like a cloudless night sky filled with planets and stars.