Shloka 67
Dvaipāyana-hrade Duryodhanasya Māyā — Yudhiṣṭhirasya Dharmoktiḥ (Śalya-parva, Adhyāya 30)
इत्येवं चिन्तयानास्तु रथेभ्यो5श्वान् विमुच्यते । तत्रासांचक्रिरे राजन् कृपप्रभूतयो रथा:
ity evaṁ cintayānās tu rathebhyo 'śvān vimucyate | tatrāsāṁ cakrire rājan kṛpa-prabhūtayo rathāḥ ||
Sañjaya said: While they were thus absorbed in anxious reflection, they unyoked the horses from their chariots. There, O King, the charioteers and great warriors—foremost among them Kṛpa—made camp and took rest, troubled by thoughts of how the battle could now proceed and what might have become of King Duryodhana.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even the mightiest warriors are constrained by uncertainty and consequence: when leadership falters and outcomes become unclear, anxiety replaces confidence. The verse highlights the ethical weight of war—victory and duty are not merely matters of strength, but of right counsel, steadiness, and the karmic momentum of prior choices.
Sañjaya reports that Kṛpa and other leading Kaurava chariot-warriors, worried about how the fighting can continue and what has happened to Duryodhana, unyoke their horses and halt to rest at that spot, absorbed in troubled deliberation.