Shloka 14
धृष्टद्युम्नस्य द्रोणरथारोহণं सात्यकेः प्रतिरक्षणं च | Dhrishtadyumna Boards Droṇa’s Chariot; Sātyaki’s Counter-Protection
कर्माणि च यथापूर्व कृत्वा नाभिवदन्ति माम् । अपि स्वस्ति भवेदद्य भ्रातृभ्यो मम माधव,“मेरे सैनिक मुझे देखकर नीचे मुख किये लौट जाते हैं। पहलेकी भाँति अभिवादन करके मुझसे युद्धका समाचार नहीं बता रहे हैं। माधव! क्या आज मेरे भाई सकुशल होंगे?”
sañjaya uvāca | karmāṇi ca yathāpūrvaṃ kṛtvā nābhivadanti mām | api svasti bhaved adya bhrātṛbhyo mama mādhava |
Sañjaya said: “Having performed their duties as before, they do not salute me. Seeing me, my soldiers turn back with downcast faces and do not report the news of the battle as they used to. O Mādhava—will my brothers be safe today?”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical and psychological weight of war: when outcomes turn grim, even routine courtesies and truthful reporting collapse. A leader’s fear for kin and the soldiers’ reluctance to speak signal how adharma and impending defeat manifest as social disintegration and ominous silence.
Sañjaya reports the atmosphere in the Kaurava camp: soldiers, seeing their king, avert their faces and withdraw without the usual salutations or battle updates. The king anxiously asks Kṛṣṇa (addressed as Mādhava) whether his brothers are safe that day.