Shloka 42
रक्षितारस्तत: शून्ये कच्चित् तैर्न हतः परै: । किन वीरोंने युद्धमें द्रोणाचार्यको उत्तम धैर्य प्रदान किया? उनकी रक्षा करनेवाले मूर्ख क्षत्रियोंने भयभीत होकर युद्धस्थलमें उन्हें अकेला तो नहीं छोड़ दिया? और इस प्रकार शत्रुओंने सूनेमें तो उन्हें नहीं मार डाला? ।। ४१ $ ।। न स पृष्ठमरेस्त्रासाद् रणे शौर्यात् प्रदर्शयेत्
dhṛtarāṣṭra uvāca | rakṣitārastataḥ śūnye kaccit tair na hataḥ paraiḥ | na sa pṛṣṭham arestrāsād raṇe śauryāt pradarśayet |
Dhṛtarāṣṭra said: “When his protectors were no longer around and he was left in an open, unguarded situation, was Droṇācārya not struck down by the enemy? Which heroes in battle gave Droṇa the highest steadiness of courage? Or did the foolish kṣatriyas appointed to guard him, seized by fear, abandon him on the battlefield—so that the foes killed him when he stood alone? And surely a warrior, out of fear of enemies, should not turn his back in battle, but must display valor.”
धृतराष्ट उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage underscores kṣatriya-dharma: fear must not lead a warrior to abandon his duty or turn his back in battle; protection of a commander is a moral and strategic obligation, and cowardly desertion is condemned.
Dhṛtarāṣṭra anxiously inquires about Droṇa’s safety and the conduct of those assigned to guard him—wondering whether they fled in fear and left him isolated, enabling the enemy to kill him, while also invoking the ideal that a warrior should not retreat out of fear.