Shloka 15
ते हतानात्मजान श्रुत्वाप्रमत्ता: पुरुषर्षभा: । निरीक्षन्तः पद शूरा: क्षिप्रमेव यशस्विनि
te hatān ātmajān śrutvā pramattāḥ puruṣarṣabhāḥ | nirīkṣantaḥ padaśūrāḥ kṣipram eva yaśasvini ||
Vaiśampāyana said: Hearing that their own sons had been slain, those bull-like men—once heedless in the pride of power—became alert. Looking about on every side, the heroes, swift in action, moved at once, O illustrious lady, driven by grief and the hard moral shock of war’s consequences.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the moral recoil that follows violence: prideful heedlessness collapses when one confronts the personal cost of war—especially the death of one’s own children—forcing sudden wakefulness and urgent action.
In the Strī Parva’s aftermath setting, news arrives that their sons have been killed. The leading men/warriors, previously inattentive or overconfident, become alert, look around, and move quickly—an immediate reaction shaped by shock and grief.