Shloka 29
Chapter 47: Krauñca-vyūha Deployment and Conch-Signals
Kaurava–Pāṇḍava Readiness
न नून॑ क्षत्रियकुले जात: सम्प्रथिते भुवि । यथास्य हृदयं भीतमल्पसत्त्वस्य संयुगे
sañjaya uvāca | na nūnaṃ kṣatriyakule jātaḥ samprathite bhuvi | yathāsya hṛdayaṃ bhītam alpasattvasya saṃyuge ||
“निश्चय ही यह पृथ्वी पर विख्यात क्षत्रियकुल में उत्पन्न नहीं हुआ; क्योंकि युद्ध के अवसर पर इसका हृदय इतना भयभीत है—इसका साहस अत्यन्त अल्प है।”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames battlefield fear as a failure of Kshatriya-appropriate steadiness: a warrior’s dharma requires inner firmness (sattva/bala) and resolve under crisis, and cowardice is portrayed as ethically and socially disqualifying.
Sanjaya reports a harsh assessment of a combatant’s state of mind: seeing his heart overwhelmed by fear at the moment of fighting, he concludes that such weakness is unworthy of a famed Kshatriya lineage.