Shloka 15
धर्मराजस्य चिन्ता, भीमसेनप्रेषणम्, द्रोणानीकप्रवेशप्रयत्नः
Yudhiṣṭhira’s Anxiety and the Dispatch of Bhīma; Attempted Breakthrough into Droṇa’s Formation
शल्यानुद्धृत्य पाणिभ्यां परिमृज्य च तान् हयान् । उपावर्त्य यथान्यायं पाययामास वारि स:,उन्होंने अपने दोनों हाथोंसे बाण निकालकर उन घोड़ोंको मला और यथोचित रूपसे टहलाकर उन्हें पानी पिलाया
śalyān uddhṛtya pāṇibhyāṃ parimṛjya ca tān hayān | upāvartya yathānyāyaṃ pāyayāmāsa vāri saḥ ||
Sañjaya said: Having pulled out the arrowheads with his own hands, he gently rubbed down those horses; then, after turning them back and walking them as was proper, he gave them water to drink. Even amid the violence of battle, he observed the fitting care owed to living beings under his charge.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights dharmic conduct under pressure: even in war, one should not abandon proper care and compassion toward dependent beings. Duty includes protecting and tending those entrusted to oneself, not merely pursuing victory.
In the midst of the battle narrative, a warrior/attendant (referred to as ‘he’) removes embedded arrowheads from the horses with his hands, rubs and soothes them, walks/turns them appropriately, and then gives them water—restoring them after injury and exertion.