Shloka 20
अपि स्वं समरे योधं धावमानं विचेतसम् । कर्णमेवाभ्यमन्यन्त ततो भीता द्रवन्ति ते,उस रणभूमिमें अचेत होकर भागते हुए अपने योद्धाको भी वे कर्ण ही समझ लेते और उसीसे डरकर भागने लगते थे
api svaṁ samare yodhaṁ dhāvamānaṁ vicetasam | karṇam evābhyamanyanta tato bhītā dravanti te ||
Sañjaya said: Even when they saw their own warrior on the battlefield—running in confusion and bereft of composure—they mistook him for Karṇa. Struck by that fear, they fled, their panic turning perception itself into error.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Fear in war can overpower discernment: when the mind is shaken, even one’s own side may be misperceived as the enemy, leading to rash flight and moral-psychological collapse.
Sañjaya describes troops so terrified of Karṇa that, amid the chaos, they mistake even their own fleeing warrior for Karṇa and, gripped by that fear, they themselves run away.