Text 13
atriṇā codito hantuṁ
pṛthu-putro mahā-rathaḥ
anvadhāvata saṅkruddhas
tiṣṭha tiṣṭheti cābravīt
atriṇā — by the great sage Atri; coditaḥ — being encouraged; hantum — to kill; pṛthu-putraḥ — the son of King Pṛthu; mahā-rathaḥ — a great hero; anvadhāvata — followed; saṅkruddhaḥ — being very angry; tiṣṭha tiṣṭha — just wait, just wait; iti — thus; ca — also; abravīt — he said.
When the son of King Pṛthu was informed by Atri of King Indra’s trick, he immediately became very angry and followed Indra to kill him, calling, “Wait! Wait!”
The words tiṣṭha tiṣṭha are used by a kṣatriya when he challenges his enemy. When fighting, a kṣatriya cannot flee from the battlefield. However, when a kṣatriya out of cowardice flees from the battlefield, showing his back to his enemy, he is challenged with the words tiṣṭha tiṣṭha. A real kṣatriya does not kill his enemy from behind, nor does a real kṣatriya turn his back on the battlefield. According to kṣatriya principle and spirit, one either attains victory or dies on the battlefield. Although King Indra was very exalted, being the King of heaven, he became degraded due to his stealing the horse intended for sacrifice. Therefore he fled without observing the kṣatriya principles, and the son of Pṛthu had to challenge him with the words tiṣṭha tiṣṭha.