Shloka 8
रणभूमिवर्णनम् — Devāsuropama-yuddha and the ‘River’ Metaphor of the Battlefield
न न एकेन योद्धव्यं कथज्चिदपि पाण्डवै:
na naikena yoddhavyaṃ kathañcid api pāṇḍavaiḥ |
Sañjaya dit : « Nul ne doit, en aucune circonstance, combattre les Pāṇḍava seul. Quiconque les affronte de sa seule force, ou quiconque abandonne un héros engagé contre les Pāṇḍava, encourt la faute des cinq grands péchés, avec les transgressions secondaires. »
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames battlefield conduct as an ethical obligation: do not engage the Pāṇḍavas in solitary combat, and do not abandon an ally fighting them. Courage must be joined to discipline, solidarity, and responsibility; reckless lone heroics and desertion are treated as grave moral faults.
In the Shalya Parva context of arranging battle formations and rules of engagement, Sañjaya reports an injunction to the Kaurava side: warriors should fight the formidable Pāṇḍavas in coordinated support, and anyone who fights them alone—or leaves a comrade unsupported while he fights them—incurs severe sin.