Shloka 26
Uttarā-Pratigrahaṇa and Abhimanyu–Uttarā Vivāha
Virāṭa-parva, Adhyāya 67
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
kṣutpipāsāpariśrāntā videśasthā viceṭasaḥ | yadā kaurava-dalake lokāś calitā vā diśo diśaṃ palāyitāḥ, tadā bahavaḥ kaurava-sainikā gahana-vane nigūḍhāḥ tataḥ niṣkramya bhayāt bhayāt arjunam upāyayuḥ | teṣāṃ hṛdaye bhayaṃ samāviśat | te kṣudhārditāḥ pipāsitāś ca pariśrāntāś ca āsan | videśavāsāt teṣāṃ hṛdayavyākulatā bhūya eva vardhitā | te tadā muktakeśā añjalibaddhahastāḥ sthitā iva dṛśyante sma |
Vaiśampāyana said: When the Kaurava host had withdrawn or scattered in flight in every direction, many Kaurava soldiers who had been hiding in the dense forest came out and, trembling with fear, approached Arjuna. Terror had seized their hearts. They were hungry, thirsty, and exhausted; and being in a foreign land only deepened their distress. At that moment they stood before him with loosened hair and folded hands—an unmistakable posture of surrender and supplication, showing how the pride of force collapses when dharma-protected valor confronts it.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how fear and suffering dissolve martial arrogance: when confronted by a dharma-protected hero, even enemies may seek refuge. It implicitly points to the ethical duty of the strong—especially a kṣatriya like Arjuna—to respond with restraint and discernment rather than cruelty toward the defeated and supplicant.
After the Kaurava forces scatter and flee, some soldiers who had been hiding in a dense forest emerge and approach Arjuna. They are hungry, thirsty, exhausted, and mentally shaken, intensified by being in a foreign land. They stand with loosened hair and folded hands, signaling surrender and pleading for safety.