Shloka 8
हतप्रवीरा विध्वस्ता निकृत्ता निशितै: शरै: । सूतपुत्रे हते राजन पुत्रास्ते दुद्रुवुर्भयात्,राजन! सूतपुत्रके मारे जानेपर पैने बाणोंसे क्षत-विक्षत एवं पराजित हुए आपके पुत्र भयके मारे भागने लगे। उनके प्रमुख वीर रणभूमिमें मारे जा चुके थे
hatapravīrā vidhvastā nikṛttā niśitaiḥ śaraiḥ | sūtaputre hate rājan putrās te dudruvur bhayāt ||
Sañjaya said: “O King, when the son of the charioteer had been slain, your sons—already stripped of their foremost heroes, shattered and cut down by sharp arrows—fled in fear. The fall of their champion broke their resolve, and the battlefield turned from proud resistance to panic-driven retreat.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how the fall of a central leader can collapse collective morale: when courage depends mainly on a single champion, fear spreads quickly after his defeat. Ethically, it underscores the fragility of adharmic confidence in war—power without inner steadiness and righteous grounding turns into panic when circumstances reverse.
Sañjaya reports to King Dhṛtarāṣṭra that after Karṇa (called ‘Sūtaputra’) is killed, the Kaurava princes—already devastated by sharp arrows and deprived of their leading warriors—lose heart and flee the battlefield in fear.