Shloka 8
Aśvatthāmā’s Lamentation, Vow of Retaliation, and the Manifestation of the Nārāyaṇāstra (द्रोणपर्व, अध्याय १६६)
रथा रथवरैरेव समाजम्मुर्मुदा युता: । तस्मिन् रात्रिमुखे घोरे तव पुत्रस्य शासनात्
rathā rathavarair eva samājam mumudur mudā yutāḥ | tasmin rātrimukhe ghore tava putrasya śāsanāt ||
Sañjaya said: The chariots, led by the foremost of chariot-warriors, gathered together and rejoiced, filled with elation. In that dreadful onset of night, they did so at the command of your son.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how wartime enthusiasm can arise from hierarchical command rather than ethical reflection; it implicitly warns that obedience and group exhilaration, especially in fearful circumstances, may propel actions whose dharmic weight is not examined.
At the dreadful onset of night, the chariot forces—guided by elite chariot-warriors—assemble and exult, doing so under the directive of Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s son (Duryodhana), as Sañjaya reports to the king.