Shloka 21
वैशम्पायनजी कहते हैं--जनमेजय! तब अर्जुनके कथनानुसार उत्तरने बड़ी उतावलीके साथ दूतोंको आज्ञा दी--“जाओ और सूचित करो कि महाराजकी विजय हुई है। शत्रु भाग गये और गौएँ जीतकर वापस लायी गयी हैं!,क्षुत्पिपासापरिश्रान्ता विदेशस्था विचेतस: । जब कौरव-दलके लोग चले गये या इधर-उधर सब दिशाओंमें भाग गये, उस समय बहुत-से कौरवसैनिक जो घने जंगलमें छिपे हुए थे, वहाँसे निकलकर डरते-डरते अर्जुनके पास आये। उनके मनमें भय समा गया था। वे भूखे-प्यासे और थके-माँदे थे। परदेशमें होनेके कारण उनके हृदयकी व्याकुलता और बढ़ गयी थी। वे उस समय केश खोले और हाथ जोड़े हुए खड़े दिखायी दिये
vaiśampāyana uvāca—janamejaya! tataḥ arjunavacanānusāreṇa uttaro mahāutāvalyena dūtān ājñāpayām āsa—“gacchata, nivedayata ca yathā mahārājasya vijayo jātaḥ; śatravaḥ palāyitāḥ; gāvaś ca jitvā punar ānītāḥ.” kṣutpipāsāpariśrāntā videśasthā viceṭasaḥ. atha kaurava-dalasya janāḥ gateṣu vā sarvato diśaḥ palāyiteṣu vā, bahavaḥ kaurava-sainikāḥ ye gahana-vane nilīnāḥ āsan, te tato niṣkramya bhītāḥ bhītāḥ arjunam upāgaman. teṣāṃ hṛdaye bhayaṃ samāviṣṭam āsīt. te kṣudhita-tṛṣitāḥ pariśrāntāś ca; videśavāsāt teṣāṃ vyākulatā ca vardhitā. te tadā muktakeśāḥ kṛtāñjalayaḥ sthitāḥ dṛśyante sma.
Vaiśampāyana said: “O Janamejaya, then, following Arjuna’s instruction, Uttara in great haste commanded the messengers: ‘Go and announce that the king has won victory. The enemies have fled, and the cattle have been recovered and brought back.’ Hungry, thirsty, and exhausted—bewildered in a foreign land—when the Kaurava troops had departed or scattered in flight in all directions, many Kaurava soldiers who had been hiding in the dense forest came out and, trembling with fear, approached Arjuna. Fear had seized their hearts. They were worn down by hunger and thirst; and being away from their own country only increased their distress. At that time they were seen standing with loosened hair and folded hands, in a posture of surrender.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical moment after victory: the defeated, overwhelmed by fear and hardship, approach the victor in surrender. It implicitly points to kṣatriya-dharma not merely as winning battles but as exercising restraint and humane conduct toward those who submit.
After Arjuna’s success in driving off the Kauravas and recovering the cattle, Uttara urgently sends messengers to proclaim the victory. Meanwhile, Kaurava soldiers who had hidden in the forest emerge, frightened and exhausted, and come to Arjuna with folded hands, seeking safety.