Text 29
te sva-prayāsaṁ vitathaṁ nirīkṣya
harāv abhaktā hata-yuddha-darpāḥ
palāyanāyāji-mukhe visṛjya
patiṁ manas te dadhur ātta-sārāḥ
te — they (the demons); sva-prayāsam — their own endeavors; vitatham — fruitless; nirīkṣya — seeing; harau abhaktāḥ — the asuras, those who are not devotees of the Supreme Personality of Godhead; hata — defeated; yuddha-darpāḥ — their pride in fighting; palāyanāya — for leaving the battlefield; āji-mukhe — in the very beginning of the battle; visṛjya — leaving aside; patim — their commander, Vṛtrāsura; manaḥ — their minds; te — all of them; dadhuḥ — gave; ātta-sārāḥ — whose prowess was taken away.
The asuras, who are never devotees of Lord Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, lost their pride in fighting when they found all their endeavors futile. Leaving aside their leader even in the very beginning of the fight, they decided to flee because all their prowess had been taken away by the enemy.