Shloka 29
तेषु प्रकाल्यमानेषु दस्यून् दुःशासनोडब्रवीत् । निवर्तध्वमधर्मज्ञा युध्यध्वं कि सृतेन व:
teṣu prakālyamāneṣu dasyūn duḥśāsano 'bravīt | nivartadhvam adharmajñā yudhyadhvaṃ kiṃ sṛtena vaḥ ||
Cuando aquellos elefantes eran empujados hacia las fauces de la muerte, Duḥśāsana se dirigió a los saqueadores: “Vosotros, que no comprendéis el dharma, ¿qué ganaréis huyendo así? Volved y combatid. ¿De qué os sirve esta fuga?”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames battlefield flight as futile and dishonorable, urging a return to combat as the expected duty; it contrasts impulsive plunder and panic with the demanded discipline of righteous warfare (dharma) as understood in the epic’s kṣatriya ethos.
In the midst of the Drona Parva battle, as elephants are being pushed into deadly danger, Sañjaya reports that Duḥśāsana rebukes a group described as dasyus (raiders) who are retreating, commanding them to turn back and fight rather than flee.