Shloka 27
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
kṣutpipāsā-pariśrāntā videśasthā viceṭasaḥ | yadā kaurava-dalake lokāś calitā vā itas-tataḥ sarvā diśo vidrutāḥ, tadā bahavaḥ kaurava-sainikā gahana-vane nihitāḥ tato niṣkramya bhīta-bhītā arjunam upāgaman | teṣāṃ hṛdaye bhayaṃ samāviśat | te kṣudhārditāḥ pipāsitāś ca pariśrāntāś ca āsan | videśavāsāt teṣāṃ hṛdaya-vyākulatā bhūya eva vardhitā | te tadā muktakeśā añjaliṃ kṛtvā sthitā dṛśyante |
Vaiśampāyana said: When the Kaurava host had withdrawn or scattered in flight in every direction, many Kaurava soldiers who had been hiding in the dense forest came out and, trembling with fear, approached Arjuna.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 stood hungry, thirsty, and exhausted; and being in a foreign land only intensified their inner distress. At that moment they were seen standing with loosened hair and folded hands—an unmistakable posture of surrender and supplication before the one who had overcome them.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even in war, the defeated may seek refuge; their posture of folded hands and loosened hair signals surrender. The scene highlights a dharmic tension: power should be tempered by restraint, and fear-driven supplication calls for ethical response rather than needless cruelty.
After the Kaurava forces disperse and flee, soldiers who had been hiding in a dense forest emerge. Hungry, thirsty, and exhausted—made more anxious by being away from home—they approach Arjuna in fear, standing before him with folded hands in a gesture of surrender.