Shloka 3
Yudhiṣṭhira’s Lament and Kṛṣṇa’s Rudra-Cosmogony Explanation (सौप्तिक पर्व, अध्याय १७)
तथा कृतास्त्रविक्रान्ता: सहस्रशतयोधिन: । द्रुपदस्यात्मजाश्वैव द्रोणपुत्रेण पातिता:
tathā kṛtāstravikrāntāḥ sahasraśatayodhinaḥ | drupadasyātmajāś caiva droṇaputreṇa pātitāḥ ||
«Die Söhne Drupadas, vollendet in der Waffenlehre, berühmt an Tapferkeit und fähig, Hunderten und Tausenden von Kämpfern zu trotzen, wurden dennoch vom Sohn Droṇas zu Boden gestreckt — welch erstaunliche Sache!»
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the shocking collapse of ordinary expectations of battlefield merit: even highly trained and heroic warriors can be destroyed when violence shifts into ruthless, rule-breaking modes (here, the night slaughter). It implicitly raises ethical unease about victory gained through methods that bypass fair combat.
In the Sauptika Parva’s account of the night attack, Vaiśampāyana notes that Drupada’s sons—despite being accomplished and formidable fighters—were killed by Aśvatthāmā (Droṇa’s son), emphasizing the devastating effectiveness and moral darkness of the nocturnal assault.