Shloka 152
जैसे प्रलयकालमें संवर्तक अग्नि समस्त प्राणियोंको दग्ध कर देती है, उसी प्रकार राक्षसोंकी उस सेनाका संहार करके युद्धस्थलमें अश्वत्थामाकी बड़ी शोभा हुई ।। त॑ दहन्तमनीकानि शरैराशीविषोपमै: । तेषु राजसहस्रेषु पाण्डवेयेषु भारत,भरतनन्दन! युद्धस्थलमें पाण्डवपक्षके सहस्रों राजाओंमेंसे वीर महाबली राक्षसराज घटोत्कचको छोड़कर दूसरा कोई भी विषधर सर्पोके समान भयंकर बाणोंद्वारा पाण्डवोंकी सेनाओंको दग्ध करते हुए अश्वत्थामाकी ओर देख न सका
sañjaya uvāca | yathā pralayakāle saṃvartako 'gniḥ samastaprāṇino dagdhvā nayati, tathā rākṣasānāṃ tāṃ senāṃ saṃhṛtya yuddhasthale 'śvatthāmanaḥ mahān śobhā samajāyata || taṃ dahantam anīkāni śarair āśīviṣopamaiḥ | teṣu rājasahasreṣu pāṇḍaveyeṣu bhārata, bharatanandana! yuddhasthale pāṇḍavapakṣasya sahasreṣu rājñāṃ madhye vīro mahābalī rākṣasarājo ghaṭotkacaṃ vihāya anyaḥ kaścid api viṣadharasarpopamair bhīṣaṇaiḥ śaraiḥ pāṇḍavānāṃ senāṃ dahantam aśvatthāmānaṃ prati dṛṣṭiṃ na cakāra ||
Sañjaya said: As, at the time of dissolution, the Saṃvartaka fire burns up every living being, so too did Aśvatthāman, after destroying that host of Rākṣasas, shine with great splendor on the battlefield. As he scorched the formations with dreadful arrows like venomous serpents, among the thousands of kings on the Pāṇḍava side—O Bharata, joy of the Bhāratas—none could bear to face him, save the mighty Rākṣasa-king Ghaṭotkaca.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how, in war, sheer martial force can become ‘apocalyptic’—overwhelming ordinary courage and judgment. Ethically, it points to the tragic escalation of violence: when combat turns into annihilation, only extraordinary power can resist it, and even righteous armies can be psychologically broken.
Sanjaya describes Ashvatthama’s battlefield dominance after he destroys a rakshasa host. He is depicted as scorching formations with serpent-like arrows, and among the many kings on the Pandava side, only Ghatotkacha is able to face him; the rest cannot even look at him directly.