Shloka 22
Uttarā-Pratigrahaṇa and Abhimanyu–Uttarā Vivāha
Virāṭa-parva, Adhyāya 67
इत्येवं तौ भारतमत्स्यवीरौ सम्मन्त्रय सड़म्य तत: शर्मीं ताम् । अभ्येत्य भूयो विजयेन तृप्ता- वुत्सृष्ट मारोपयतां स्वभाण्डम्,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 इस प्रकार भरतकुल और मत्स्यकुलके उन दोनों वीरोंने आपसमें सलाह करके पूर्वोक्त शमीवृक्षके समीप जा पहलेके उतारे हुए अपने अलंकार आदि शरीरपर धारण कर लिये थे और उनके रखनेके पात्र (भी) रथपर चढ़ा लिये थे
iti evaṁ tau bhāratamatsyavīrau sammantrya śamīṁ tām abhyetya bhūyo vijayena tṛptau utsṛṣṭam āropayatāṁ svabhāṇḍam | kṣutpipāsāpariśrāntā videśasthā vicetasaḥ ||
Vaiśampāyana said: Thus the two heroes of the Bharatas and the Matsyas, having consulted together, went again to that śamī tree. Satisfied with their victory, they put back on the ornaments and gear they had earlier set aside, and loaded their own equipment onto the chariot. Meanwhile, the Kaurava soldiers—frightened, hungry, thirsty, and exhausted, and further unsettled because they were in a foreign land—emerged timidly from hiding and stood with loosened hair and folded hands, their fear laid bare by defeat.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Victory should not become cruelty: the scene contrasts the victors’ composed restoration of their arms and ornaments with the defeated soldiers’ fear and exhaustion, highlighting how war exposes pride and how dharma calls for restraint and humane conduct toward the vanquished.
After the battle in which the Kaurava force is routed, the two allied heroes return to the śamī tree where their gear had been kept, put on their ornaments again, and load their equipment onto the chariot; at the same time, scattered Kaurava soldiers emerge from hiding—hungry, thirsty, and terrified—standing in a posture of surrender.