Shloka 17
भागिनेयान् वयस्यांश्व॒ तथा सम्बन्धिबान्धवान् | उत्सृज्योत्सृज्य गच्छन्ति त्वरिता जीवितेप्सव:,कोई पुत्रोंकी, कोई पिताओंको, कोई भाइयोंको, कोई मामा, भानजों, मित्रों, सम्बन्धियों तथा बन्धु-बान्धवोंको छोड़-छोड़कर अपनी जान बचानेके लिये तुरंत ही भाग चले
bhāgineyān vayasyāṁś ca tathā sambandhi-bāndhavān | utsṛjyotsṛjya gacchanti tvaritā jīvitepsavaḥ ||
Sañjaya said: Casting off again and again their nephews, companions, and even their kinsmen and relatives, they hurriedly fled—driven by the desire to preserve their own lives. In the terror of battle, bonds of affection and duty are abandoned as self-preservation overwhelms restraint and loyalty.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how fear and the instinct for self-preservation can eclipse dharma and familial loyalty in the chaos of war, revealing the fragility of social and ethical bonds under extreme threat.
Sañjaya reports that combatants, panic-stricken, are fleeing the battlefield in haste, abandoning even close relations—nephews, friends, and other kin—simply to save their own lives.