Shloka 4
Chapter 23: Śakuni Reports, Kaurava Advance, and Arjuna’s Penetration of the Host
तावकानां परेषां च देवासुररणोपमम् । परेषां तव सैन्ये वा नासीत् कश्चित् पराड्मुख:
tāvakānāṃ pareṣāṃ ca devāsura-raṇopamam | pareṣāṃ tava sainye vā nāsīt kaścit parāṅmukhaḥ ||
ನಿನ್ನವರೂ ಶತ್ರುಗಳೂ ನಡೆಸಿದ ಆ ಯುದ್ಧವು ದೇವಾಸುರರ ಸಮರದಂತಿತ್ತು. ಆ ಸಮಯದಲ್ಲಿ ಶತ್ರುಸೈನ್ಯದಲ್ಲಾಗಲಿ ನಿನ್ನ ಸೈನ್ಯದಲ್ಲಾಗಲಿ ಯಾರೂ ಬೆನ್ನು ತೋರಿಸಿ ಓಡಲಿಲ್ಲ.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights steadfastness in the face of danger: neither side yielded to fear. Ethically, it underscores the kṣatriya ideal of not turning away from battle, while also hinting at the tragic symmetry of valor on both sides in a destructive war.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that the fighting was intense and evenly met—like the mythic Deva–Asura battles—and that no warrior in either army turned back in retreat.