Shloka 17
Pradyumna–Śālva Missile-Exchange at Saubha (Āraṇyaka Parva, Adhyāya 18)
अपयातं हत॑ पृषछ्े भ्रान्तं रणपलायितम् | गदाग्रजो दुराधर्ष: कि मां वक्ष्यति माधव:,'युद्धसे लौटने या भ्रान्तचित्त होकर भागनेपर जब मेरी पीठमें शत्रुके बाणोंका आघात लगा हो, उस समय किसीसे परास्त न होनेवाले मेरे पिता गदाग्रज भगवान् माधव मुझसे क्या कहेंगे?
apayātaṁ hata-pṛṣṭhe bhrāntaṁ raṇa-palāyitam | gadāgrajo durādharṣaḥ ki māṁ vakṣyati mādhavaḥ ||
Dijo Vāyu: «Si, al retirarme, soy herido por la espalda—con la mente turbada y huyendo del combate—¿qué me dirá entonces Mādhava, mi padre invencible, el hermano mayor de Gadā?»
वायुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
Retreating from a righteous battle out of confusion is portrayed as dishonorable; being wounded in the back symbolizes abandonment of duty. The verse uses the imagined reproach of Mādhava as an ethical mirror, urging steadfastness, courage, and accountability to one’s highest standard.
Vāyu speaks in a self-questioning, admonitory tone: he imagines the shame of fleeing and being struck from behind, then asks what Mādhava—described as invincible and as Gadā’s elder brother—would say to him in that moment. The speech functions as a moral check against cowardice.