Shloka 38
Duryodhana’s Anxiety, Bhīṣma’s Reassurance, and Renewed Mobilization (दुर्योधनचिन्ता–भीष्मप्रत्याश्वासन–सेनानिर्गमनम्)
ततः स्वरथमारोप्य लक्ष्मणं गौतमस्तदा । अपोवाह रथेनाजौ सर्वसैन्यस्य पश्यत:
tataḥ svarathamāropya lakṣmaṇaṃ gautamas tadā | apovāha rathenājau sarvasainyasya paśyataḥ ||
Sañjaya disse: “Então Gautama, erguendo Lakṣmaṇa e colocando-o em sua própria carruagem, levou-o para longe do campo de batalha, à vista de todo o exército.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even in war, dharma includes responsibility toward one’s companions: when a warrior is endangered or incapacitated, protecting and removing him from immediate harm can be a righteous act, balancing valor with humane duty.
Gautama places Lakṣmaṇa onto his own chariot and drives him away from the battlefield, and this withdrawal happens openly, witnessed by the whole army, as Sañjaya reports the event.