Shloka 1123
Sauptika Parva, Adhyaya 8 — Dhṛṣṭadyumna-vadha and the Camp’s Nocturnal Rout
अपातयद् द्रोणपुत्र: संरब्धस्तिलकाण्डवत् | क्रोधसे भरे हुए शक्तिशाली द्रोणपुत्रने कुछ योद्धाओंको तिलके डंठलोंकी भाँति बीचसे ही तलवारसे काट गिराया
apātayad droṇaputraḥ saṁrabdhas tilakāṇḍavat |
Sañjaya said: Enraged and driven by wrath, Droṇa’s son struck down several warriors, cutting them through the middle with his sword, as one severs the stalks of sesame plants. The verse underscores how anger in war turns combat into indiscriminate slaughter, eclipsing restraint and ethical discernment.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The simile of cutting sesame-stalks highlights how unchecked anger in battle reduces human life to something treated as easily severed, warning that krodha erodes discernment and dharmic restraint.
Sañjaya describes Aśvatthāmā (Droṇa’s son), inflamed with rage, cutting down multiple warriors with his sword, felling them swiftly as if slicing through plant stalks.