Shloka 17

Devanagari script

भागिनेयान्‌ वयस्यांश्व॒ तथा सम्बन्धिबान्धवान्‌ | उत्सृज्योत्सृज्य गच्छन्ति त्वरिता जीवितेप्सव:,कोई पुत्रोंकी, कोई पिताओंको, कोई भाइयोंको, कोई मामा, भानजों, मित्रों, सम्बन्धियों तथा बन्धु-बान्धवोंको छोड़-छोड़कर अपनी जान बचानेके लिये तुरंत ही भाग चले

Transliteration

bhāgineyān vayasyāṁś ca tathā sambandhi-bāndhavān | utsṛjyotsṛjya gacchanti tvaritā jīvitepsavaḥ ||

Translation

サञ्जयは言った。甥たちや同輩の友、さらには親族・縁者までも、彼らは幾度となく捨て去り、ただ己の命を守らんがために慌ただしく逃げ散った。戦の恐怖の中では、情と義務の絆は断たれ、生き延びたいという思いが自制と忠誠を押し流すのである。

Word by Word

भागिनेयान्sister's sons (nephews)

वयस्यान्friends, companions

चand

तथाalso, likewise

सम्बन्धिrelated (kinsmen)

बान्धवान्relatives, kinsmen

उत्सृज्यhaving abandoned, leaving behind

उत्सृज्यagain having abandoned (repeatedly leaving)

गच्छन्तिthey go, they flee

त्वरिताःhastened, in great hurry

जीवितेप्सवःdesiring life (eager to save their lives)

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights how fear and the instinct for self-preservation can eclipse dharma and familial loyalty in the chaos of war, revealing the fragility of social and ethical bonds under extreme threat.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports that combatants, panic-stricken, are fleeing the battlefield in haste, abandoning even close relations—nephews, friends, and other kin—simply to save their own lives.