Mahabharata — Shalya Parva, Shloka 45
Nakula’s Engagement with Citra-sena and Karṇa’s Sons; Śalya Re-stabilizes the Kaurava Host
क्षत्रियाणां तदान्योन्यं संयुगे जयमिच्छताम् । प्राद्रवन्नेव सम्भग्ना: पाण्डवैस्तव सैनिका:
kṣatriyāṇāṃ tadānyonyaṃ saṃyuge jayam icchatām | prādravann eva sambhagnāḥ pāṇḍavais tava sainikāḥ, bhārata |
Sañjaya said: “Then, O Bhārata, though those kṣatriyas in the battle longed for victory over one another, your soldiers—broken and routed by the Pāṇḍavas—ran away from the field.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the tension between the kṣatriya ideal of steadfastness in battle and the human reality of fear and collapse when defeat becomes overwhelming; desire for victory alone does not sustain dharma or courage without discipline and leadership.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that, despite the warriors’ mutual eagerness to win, the Kaurava troops were broken by the Pāṇḍavas and fled from the battlefield.