Shloka 11
धृतराष्ट्रस्य मूर्च्छा स्त्रीणां च आर्तनादः
Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Collapse and the Lament of the Palace Women
यस्य वै युधि संत्रासात् कुन्तीपुत्रो धनंजय: । निवर्तते सदा मन्द: सिंहात क्षुद्रमूगो यथा,“जिसके भयसे वह कुन्तीका मूर्ख पुत्र अर्जुन सदा उसी प्रकार मुँह मोड़ लेता है, जैसे सिंहके सामनेसे क्षुद्र मृम भाग जाता है
yasya vai yudhi saṃtrāsāt kuntīputro dhanaṃjayaḥ | nivartate sadā mandaḥ siṃhāt kṣudramṛgo yathā ||
Sañjaya said: “Struck with fear of him on the battlefield, Kuntī’s son Dhanañjaya (Arjuna) always turns back—faint-hearted—just as a small animal flees before a lion.” The line bears the rhetoric of war: courage is praised and fear is mocked, as the foe’s prowess is cast as so overwhelming that even Arjuna would recoil.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse illustrates the Mahābhārata’s battlefield rhetoric: valor is upheld as a kṣatriya ideal, while fear and retreat are condemned through sharp comparison. Ethically, it shows how speech in war can be used to intimidate, shame, and magnify one’s side by portraying the opponent as cowardly.
Sañjaya reports a claim about a warrior whose mere presence causes Arjuna to recoil in fear, likening Arjuna to a small animal fleeing a lion. The statement functions as praise of the feared warrior’s might and as a taunt aimed at diminishing Arjuna’s reputation.