Shloka 32
Pradyumna–Śālva Missile-Exchange at Saubha (Āraṇyaka Parva, Adhyāya 18)
कदापि सूतपुत्र त्वं जानीषे मां भयार्दितम् । अपयातं रणं हित्वा यथा कापुरुषं तथा,'सूतपुत्र! क्या तू मुझे कायरोंकी तरह भयसे पीड़ित और युद्ध छोड़कर भागा हुआ समझता है?
kadāpi sūtaputra tvaṃ jānīṣe māṃ bhayārditam | apayātaṃ raṇaṃ hitvā yathā kāpuruṣaṃ tathā |
Wika ni Vāyu: “O anak ng tagapagmaneho ng karwahe, iniisip mo ba na ako’y tinamaan ng takot—na iniwan ang larangan ng digmaan at tumakas na parang duwag?”
वायुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse upholds the ethic of steadfast courage: abandoning one’s duty out of fear is condemned as cowardice, while true honor lies in not retreating from rightful struggle.
Vāyudeva addresses someone pointedly as ‘sūtaputra’ and rejects any suspicion that he would flee the battlefield in fear, framing retreat-from-battle as the behavior of a coward.