Shloka 57
Arjuna’s Concentrated Archery and the Rout of the Kaurava Mahārathas
Gāṇḍīva-Nirghoṣa Episode
इतनेमें ही वे नरश्रेष्ठ सैनिक कुन्तीपुत्र धनंजयसे डरकर रथहीन कृपाचार्यको बड़े वेगसे हटा ले गये ।। इति श्रीमहाभारते विराटपर्वणि गोहरणपर्वणि उत्तरगोग्रहणे कृपापयाने सप्तपञ्चाशत्तमोडध्याय:
itane meṁ hi te naraśreṣṭhāḥ sainikāḥ kuntīputra-dhanañjayāt bhītāḥ rathahīnaṁ kṛpācāryaṁ mahāvegena haṭā layuḥ | iti śrīmahābhārate virāṭaparvaṇi goharaṇaparvaṇi uttaragograhaṇe kṛpāpayāne saptapañcāśattamo 'dhyāyaḥ |
Just then, those foremost warriors—struck with fear of Dhanañjaya, the son of Kuntī—swiftly carried away the preceptor Kṛpa, who had been left without his chariot.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even in warfare, the impulse to protect one’s teacher and leader remains a powerful ethical reflex; fear can humble the proud, and responsibility toward elders can surface amid chaos.
As Arjuna overwhelms the opposing force during the cattle-recovery episode, the soldiers—frightened of him—quickly remove Kṛpa, who has lost his chariot, carrying him away at great speed to save him from further danger.