Shloka 50
Cakravyūha-saṃkalpaḥ, Saṃśaptaka-āhvānaṃ, Saubhadra-vikrīḍitam
Drona Parva, Adhyāya 32
न जघानार्जुनो योधान् योधव्रतमनुस्मरन् । उन योद्धाओंमेंसे जो लोग रथसे कूद पड़े थे या धरतीपर गिर गये थे अथवा युद्धसे विमुख होकर भाग चले थे, उन सबको एक वीर सैनिकके लिये निश्चित नियमका निरन्तर स्मरण रखते हुए अर्जुनने नहीं मारा ।। ते विकीर्णरथाश्षित्रा: प्रायशश्न॒ पराड्मुखा:
sañjaya uvāca | na jaghānārjuno yodhān yodhavratam anusmaran | te vikīrṇarathāś chinnāḥ prāyaśaḥ parāṅmukhāḥ |
Sañjaya said: Remembering the warrior’s code, Arjuna did not strike down those fighters who had been thrown from their chariots, who had fallen to the ground, or who had turned away from the battle and fled. Most of them, their chariots scattered and their ranks broken, were already facing away in retreat.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even amid a brutal war, dharma imposes limits: a true warrior restrains himself from killing those who are disarmed, fallen, or fleeing, remembering the yodha-vrata (ethical code of combat).
Sañjaya reports that Arjuna, though capable of destroying many, refrains from killing opponents whose chariots are broken or who have turned away in retreat, because he keeps the warrior’s code in mind.