Shloka 28
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 vicetasaḥ | yadā kaurava-dalake lokāś calitā vā diśo diśaṃ pradrutāḥ, tadā bahavaḥ kaurava-sainikā gahanaṃ vanaṃ praviśya tatra guptāḥ santaḥ, tato nirgatyārjunaṃ prati bhayāt bhayāt samupāyayuḥ | teṣāṃ hṛdaye bhayaṃ samāviśat | te kṣudhārditāḥ pipāsitāś ca pariśrāntāś ca | videśavāsāt teṣāṃ vyākulatā bhūya eva vardhitā | te tadā muktakeśāḥ kṛtāñjalayaḥ sthitā 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Vaiśampāyana said: When the Kaurava host had withdrawn or scattered in flight in every direction, many Kaurava soldiers who had been hiding in the dense forest came out and, trembling with fear, approached Arjuna.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 amid the moral aftermath of defeat.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even amid warfare, the defeated and terrified may seek refuge; their posture of folded hands signals a moral claim for protection. The scene foregrounds dharma as restraint and humane response to surrender, not merely victory over an enemy.
After the Kaurava forces scatter, some soldiers who had hidden in a dense forest emerge and approach Arjuna in fear. Hungry, thirsty, and exhausted—made more anxious by being away from home—they stand before him with loosened hair and folded hands, pleading for safety.