Shloka 14

Devanagari script

भीता: पादैर्हयान्‌ केचित्‌ त्वरयन्तः स्वयं रथान्‌ । रथान्‌ विशीर्णनुत्सृज्य पद्धि: केचिच्च विद्रुता:,कुछ लोग भयभीत हो घोड़ोंको पैरोंसे मार-मारकर स्वयं ही जल्दी-जल्दी रथ हाँक रहे थे और कुछ लोग टूटे हुए रथोंको छोड़कर पैदल ही भागने लगे थे

Transliteration

bhītāḥ pādair hayān kecit tvarayantaḥ svayaṃ rathān | rathān viśīrṇān utsṛjya paddhiḥ kecic ca vidrutāḥ ||

Translation

Yudhiṣṭhira dit : «Certains, saisis de peur, frappaient leurs chevaux du talon et hâtaient eux-mêmes leurs chars ; d’autres, abandonnant leurs chars disloqués, s’enfuyaient à pied.»

Word by Word

भीताःfrightened

पादैःwith (their) feet

हयान्horses

केचित्some (people)

त्वरयन्तःhastening/urging on

स्वयम्themselves

रथान्chariots

विशीर्णान्broken, shattered

उत्सृज्यhaving abandoned

पद्धिःon foot, by foot

केचित्some (others)

चand

विद्रुताःran away, fled

Speaker

युधिछिर उवाच

Characters & Entities

Yudhiṣṭhira

horses (haya)

chariots (ratha)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights how fear can overpower discipline and duty in war: when courage collapses, warriors abandon equipment and formation, choosing immediate survival. Ethically, it contrasts steadiness in dharma with the destabilizing force of panic.

What is happening in the narrative?

Yudhiṣṭhira describes a rout on the battlefield: some men frantically urge their horses and drive their chariots away, while others leave their damaged chariots behind and run off on foot.