Shloka 156

Devanagari script

अर्धरात्रि: समाजज्ञे निद्रान्धानां विशेषत: । वहाँ बाणोंकी चोट सहते और विशेषत: क्षत-विक्षत होते हुए निद्रान्ध सैनिकोंकी आधी रात बीत गयी

Transliteration

ardharātriḥ samājajñe nidrāndhānāṁ viśeṣataḥ |

Translation

সঞ্জয়ে ক’লে—অৰ্ধৰাত্ৰি পাৰ হ’ল; সেই সময় বিশেষকৈ নিদ্ৰাই অন্ধ কৰা সৈনিকসকলে বাণৰ আঘাত সহি সহি ক্ষত-বিক্ষত হৈ পৰিল।

Word by Word

अर्धरात्रिःmidnight; half of the night

समाजज्ञेpassed; went by

निद्रान्धानाम्of those blinded by sleep; of sleep-dazed (men)

विशेषतःespecially; particularly

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

soldiers (sleep-blinded)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the moral tension of warfare: when violence continues even against sleep-dazed, defenseless soldiers, it raises questions of restraint (dharma-yuddha) versus expediency, and shows how war erodes ordinary ethical boundaries.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes the passage of midnight during a violent episode in which soldiers, overcome by sleep, are struck by arrows and become badly wounded—emphasizing the vulnerability of the camp at night and the brutality of the assault.