Shloka 67

Devanagari script

सैनिकाश्न ततः सर्वे प्राद्रवन्त भयार्दिता: । वयं चापि निरुत्साहा हते पितरि तेडनघ,अनघ! इस प्रकार तुम्हारे पिताके मारे जानेपर समस्त सैनिक भयसे पीड़ित होकर भाग चले हैं और हमलोग उत्साहशून्य होकर लौटे आ रहे हैं

Transliteration

sainikāś ca tataḥ sarve prādravanta bhayārditāḥ | vayaṃ cāpi nirutsāhā hate pitari te 'naghā ||

Translation

Kṛpa said: “Then all the soldiers, stricken with fear, fled in every direction. And we too, O blameless one, have become devoid of spirit now that your father has been slain.”

Word by Word

सैनिकाःsoldiers

नुindeed/now (emphatic particle)

ततःthen/thereupon

सर्वेall

प्राद्रवन्तran forth/ran away

भयार्दिताःafflicted by fear

वयम्we

चand

अपिalso/even

निरुत्साहाःwithout enthusiasm, dispirited

हतेwhen (he) was slain / upon being slain

पितरिin/when (your) father

तेof you/your

अनघO sinless one

अनघO blameless one

Speaker

कृप उवाच

Characters & Entities

Kṛpa

soldiers (the army)

the addressee (anagha, unnamed here)

the addressee’s father (unnamed here)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights how fear and bereavement can collapse collective resolve: when a key figure falls, even seasoned warriors may lose courage. Ethically, it underscores the fragility of kṣatriya steadiness (dhairya) in war and the need for leadership that can restore morale amid grief.

What is happening in the narrative?

Kṛpa reports that after the killing of the listener’s father, the troops panic and scatter, and Kṛpa’s own side becomes dispirited and withdraws. It is a battlefield update emphasizing the immediate psychological impact of the death.