Shloka 31
Pradyumna–Śālva Missile-Exchange at Saubha (Āraṇyaka Parva, Adhyāya 18)
न जीवितमहं सौते बहु मनन््ये कथंचन । अपयातो रणाद् भीत: पृष्ठतो5भ्याहत: शरै:,'सूतपुत्र! पीठपर बाणोंकी चोट खाकर भयभीत हो युद्धसे भागनेवालेके जीवनको मैं किसी प्रकार भी अधिक आदर नहीं देता
na jīvitam ahaṃ saute bahu manye kathaṃcana | apayāto raṇād bhītaḥ pṛṣṭhato 'bhyāhataḥ śaraiḥ ||
Vāyu said: “O Sūta’s son, I do not, in any way, hold in high regard the life of one who, frightened, turns away from battle and flees—only to be struck by arrows from behind. Such a life, preserved by cowardly retreat, is not worthy of honor.”
वायुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse upholds the warrior-ethic that life preserved through fearful retreat is not honorable; true worth lies in courage and steadfastness in one’s duty, not mere survival.
Vāyu addresses a ‘Sūta’s son’ and condemns the act of fleeing the battlefield in fear—especially the shame of being wounded by arrows from behind—framing it as a dishonorable way to cling to life.