Shloka 99
भीरूणामसतां मार्गो नैष दाशार्हसेवित: । शैनेय! दशार्हकुलके वीर पुरुष रणक्षेत्रमें अपने प्राण बचानेकी चेष्टा नहीं करते हैं। युद्धसे मुँह मोड़ना, युद्धस्थलमें डटे न रहना और संग्रामभूमिमें पीठ दिखाकर भागना यह कायरों और अधम पुरुषोंका मार्ग है। दशाकुलके वीर पुरुष इससे दूर रहते हैं || ९८ ई ।। तवार्जुनो गुरुस्तात धर्मात्मा शिनिपुज्रव
bhīrūṇām asatāṁ mārgo naiṣa dāśārha-sevitaḥ | śaineya daśārha-kulake vīrāḥ puruṣā raṇa-kṣetre prāṇān rakṣituṁ na ceṣṭante | yuddhāt mukhaṁ moḍayitum, yuddha-sthale na sthātum, saṅgrāma-bhūmau pṛṣṭhaṁ darśayitvā palāyitum—eṣa bhīrūṇām adhamānāṁ ca mārgaḥ | daśārha-kulasya vīrāḥ etasmāt dūrataḥ tiṣṭhanti ||
Yudhiṣṭhira said: “This is the path of cowards and base men; it is not the way followed by the Dāśārhas. O Śaineya, the heroes of the Dāśārha line do not strive to save their lives on the battlefield. To turn one’s face away from war, to fail to stand firm where the fight is joined, and to flee showing one’s back in the field of battle—this is the course of the timid and the ignoble. The valiant of the Dāśārha clan keep far from such conduct.”
युधिष्ठिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse asserts a kṣatriya code of honor: preserving life by fleeing, turning away from combat, or abandoning one’s post is condemned as ignoble. True valor is defined as steadfastness in righteous battle, especially as an inherited standard of conduct for a warrior lineage.
Yudhiṣṭhira addresses Śaineya (Sātyaki), invoking the reputation of the Dāśārha/Yādava warriors. He rebukes any impulse toward retreat and urges firm resistance in the ongoing battle, framing steadfastness as both personal duty and clan tradition.