Shloka 33
संजय उवाच एवमुक्तो महाबाहुर्यूपकेतुर्महायशा: । युयुधानं समुत्सृज्य रणे प्रायमुपाविशत्,संजय कहते हैं--राजन्! अर्जुनके ऐसा कहनेपर यूपके चिह्नसे युक्त ध्वजावाले महायशस्वी महाबाहु भूरिश्रवा सात्यकिको छोड़कर रणभूमिमें आमरण अनशनका नियम लेकर बैठ गये
sañjaya uvāca evam ukto mahābāhur yūpaketur mahāyaśāḥ | yuyudhānaṃ samutsṛjya raṇe prāyam upāviśat ||
Sañjaya said: Thus addressed, the mighty-armed and greatly renowned warrior whose banner bore the emblem of a sacrificial post (yūpa) released Yuyudhāna and, on the battlefield itself, sat down undertaking prāya—an austere vow to fast unto death. In the ethical frame of the epic, this act signals a turn from continued violence to a self-imposed expiation and a claim to moral agency amid the chaos of war.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even within war, the Mahābhārata foregrounds moral choice: when a warrior perceives a breach of righteous conduct or an unbearable ethical crisis, he may seek expiation through self-restraint and austerity (prāya), asserting accountability rather than escalating violence.
After Arjuna’s words, the famed warrior identified as yūpaketu (Bhūriśravas in context) releases Yuyudhāna (Sātyaki) and sits down on the battlefield undertaking a fast unto death, marking a dramatic pause in combat and a shift to a vow-based response.