Shloka 24
तिष्ठ तिछतेति न च ते स्वयं तत्रावतस्थिरे । धुर्यानिन्मुच्य च रथाद्धतसूतात् स्वलंकृतान् । अधिरुहा हयान् योधा: क्षिप्रं पद्धिरचोदयन्,कुछ योद्धा दूसरोंसे 'ठहरो, ठहरो' कहते, परंतु स्वयं नहीं ठहरते थे। कितने ही योद्धा सारथिशून्य रथसे सजे-सजाये घोड़ोंको खोलकर उनपर सवार हो जाते और पैरोंसे ही शीघ्रतापूर्वक उन्हें हाँकने लगते थे
tiṣṭha tiṣṭheti na ca te svayaṃ tatrāvatāsthire | dhuryān nirmucya ca rathād dhatasūtāt su-alaṅkṛtān | adhiruhya hayān yodhāḥ kṣipraṃ paddhir acodayan |
サञ्जयは語った。「止まれ、止まれ」と叫び立てながら、彼ら自身はその場に踏みとどまらなかった。ある戦士たちは、御者を失った戦車を見るや、轅から飾り立てた馬を解き放ち、それに跨って、足の力だけで急ぎ前へと駆り立てた。その光景は、戦場における人の恐慌と矛盾を映し出す――他者には自制を促しつつ、自らは恐れと焦燥に押し流されてゆくのである。
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights a moral-psychological truth: in crisis, people may demand discipline from others while failing to practice it themselves. It implicitly critiques hypocrisy and shows how fear and haste can override self-control (dama) and steadiness (dhṛti) expected in dharmic conduct.
On the battlefield, confusion spreads. Warriors shout for others to halt, yet they themselves keep moving. Some, whose charioteers have been killed, unyoke the decorated horses from their chariots, mount them directly, and drive them forward with their feet to escape or reposition quickly.