Shloka 19
Kṣātra-dharma in Campaign and Battle: Protection, Purification, and the Ideal Warrior’s End (क्षात्रधर्मः—अभियानयुद्धे रक्षणदानशुद्धिः)
पतत्यभिमुख: शूर: परान् भीरु: पलायते । आस्थाय स्वर्ग्यमध्वानं सहायान् विषमे त्यजेत्
pataty abhimukhaḥ śūraḥ parān bhīruḥ palāyate | āsthāya svargyam adhvānaṃ sahāyān viṣame tyajet ||
Бхишма сказал: «Храбрец устремляется навстречу врагу, а трус обращается в бегство. И даже вступив на “путь, ведущий на небеса” — путь героического долга, — такой трус бросает своих товарищей в самой гуще опасности».
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
True valor is not only facing the enemy but also remaining steadfast with one’s companions; cowardice is shown both in fleeing and in abandoning allies at the moment of crisis.
In Bhishma’s instruction on conduct and duty, he contrasts the behavior of a brave warrior who advances toward the foe with that of a coward who retreats and even deserts his comrades despite claiming the merit of a ‘heavenward’ heroic path.