Shloka 2
Sauptika Parva, Adhyaya 8 — Dhṛṣṭadyumna-vadha and the Camp’s Nocturnal Rout
कच्चिन्न वारितौ क्षुद्रे रक्षिभिनोंपलक्षितौ । असहामिति मन्वानौ न निवृत्ती महारथौ
kaccin na vāritau kṣudre rakṣibhir nopala kṣitau | asahām iti manvānau na nivṛttī mahārathau ||
E prosseguiu: “Certamente esses dois grandes guerreiros de carro não foram detidos por guardas mesquinhos, nem sequer percebidos por eles? Pensando: ‘Não podemos suportar esta humilhação/derrota’, não terão recuado de seu intento?”
घतयाट्र उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the warrior-code tension between resolve and disgrace: elite fighters are expected to persist in a chosen course, especially when driven by wounded honor and vengeance, and not be thwarted by minor obstacles. It also underscores the moral unease of actions undertaken in anger—determination can harden into ruthless persistence.
A speaker anxiously asks whether two leading warriors have been stopped or even noticed by the camp’s guards, and whether, feeling unable to bear the situation, they have turned back. The question implies a covert movement amid sentries and the urgency of a violent plan associated with the Sauptika episode.