Shloka 61
Śālva’s Elephant Assault and the Counterstroke (शाल्वस्य नागारूढाभ्यवहारः)
अनुसृत्य हनिष्यन्ति श्रेयान्न: समरे वध: । “तुम पाण्डवोंके अपराध तो कर ही चुके हो। यदि अलग-अलग होकर भागोगे तो पाण्डव पीछा करके तुम्हें अवश्य मार डालेंगे। ऐसी दशामें हमारे लिये संग्राममें मारा जाना ही श्रेयस्कर है || ६० इ || शृण्वन्तु क्षत्रिया: सर्वे यावन््तो5त्र समागता:,“जितने क्षत्रिय यहाँ एकत्र हुए हैं, वे सब कान खोलकर सुन लें--जब शूरवीर और कायर सभीको सदा ही मौत मार डालती है, तब ऐसा कौन मूर्ख मनुष्य है, जो क्षत्रिय कहलाकर भी निश्चितरूपसे युद्ध नहीं करेगा
sañjaya uvāca | anusṛtya haniṣyanti śreyān naḥ samare vadhaḥ | śṛṇvantu kṣatriyāḥ sarve yāvanto 'tra samāgatāḥ |
Sañjaya said: “If we scatter and flee, the Pāṇḍavas will pursue and surely kill us. In such a plight, it is better for us to die in battle. Let all the kṣatriyas gathered here listen: when death strikes down both the brave and the coward alike, what fool—calling himself a kṣatriya—would still refuse to fight with resolve?”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage asserts a kṣatriya ethic: since death comes to both the brave and the coward, it is wiser to face danger with honor and resolve rather than seek safety through flight that leads to disgrace and likely destruction.
Sañjaya reports an exhortation to the assembled warriors: the speaker argues that scattering and fleeing will invite pursuit by the Pāṇḍavas and certain death, so the army should stand together and accept battle as the preferable course.