Shloka 12
को हि दौर्योधने सैन्ये पुमानासीन्महारथ: । य॑ं प्राप्प समरे वीरा न त्रस्यन्ति महाभये,उस महान् भयके अवसरपर दुर्योधनकी सेनामें कौन ऐसा वीर महारथी पुरुष था, जिसका आश्रय पाकर समरांगणमें वीर कौरव भयभीत नहीं हुए हैं
ko hi dauryodhane sainye pumān āsīn mahārathaḥ | yaṁ prāpya samare vīrā na trasyanti mahābhaye ||
Vaiśampāyana said: “Indeed, within Duryodhana’s army, who was that heroic great chariot-warrior—taking refuge in whom, the Kaurava fighters did not tremble on the battlefield even amid the great terror of war?”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how morale in war often depends on reliance upon a single outstanding leader (mahāratha). Ethically, it points to the power—and risk—of placing collective confidence in one figure: courage can be strengthened by capable leadership, yet such dependence also reveals the fragility of an army’s inner steadiness.
Vaiśampāyana frames a question about the Kaurava side: in Duryodhana’s forces, which great warrior served as the pillar of confidence such that, under his protection or association, the Kaurava heroes did not panic even in the most frightening moments of battle.