Shloka 21
Pradyumna–Śālva Missile-Exchange at Saubha (Āraṇyaka Parva, Adhyāya 18)
शूरं सम्भावितं शान्तं नित्यं पुरुषमानिनम् | स्त्रियश्न वृष्णिवीराणां कि मां वक्ष्यन्ति संहता:,“मैं शूरवीर, सम्भावित (सम्मानित), शान्तस्वभाव तथा सदा अपनेको वीर पुरुष माननेवाला समझा जाता हूँ। (युद्धसे भागनेपर) मुझे देखकर झुंड-की-झुंड एकत्र हुई वृष्णिवीरोंकी स्त्रियाँ मुझे क्या कहेंगी?
śūraṃ sambhāvitaṃ śāntaṃ nityaṃ puruṣamāninam | striyaś ca vṛṣṇivīrāṇāṃ kiṃ māṃ vakṣyanti saṃhatāḥ ||
Vāyu said: “I am known as a hero—honoured, self-controlled, and ever regarding myself as a true man of valour. If I were to turn back from battle, what would the wives of the Vṛṣṇi warriors, gathering together in groups, say of me when they see me?”
वायुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the warrior-ethic in which personal dharma is tied to courage and steadfastness. Honour is not merely private; it is socially witnessed, and fear of public censure—especially from one’s own community—functions as a moral pressure to uphold one’s duty rather than retreat.
Vāyudeva speaks from the standpoint of a celebrated hero, reflecting on how retreat would contradict his established reputation. He imagines the Vṛṣṇi warriors’ wives gathering and criticizing him, using anticipated social judgment to underscore the seriousness of abandoning the battlefield.