Shloka 54
स शड्कमानस्तन्मि थ्या धर्मराजमपृच्छत । हतं वाप्यहतं वा5<जौ त्वां पिता पुत्रवत्सल:,उनके मनमें यह संदेह हुआ कि यह समाचार झूठा है; अतः तुम्हारे पुत्रवत्सल पिताने युद्धभूमिमें धर्मराज युधिष्ठिरसे पूछा कि “अश्वत्थामा मारा गया या नहीं”
sa śaṅkamānas tan mithyā dharmarājam apṛcchat | hataṃ vāpy ahataṃ vāśvatthāmā tvāṃ pitā putravatsalaḥ ||
Suspecting that the report might be false, he questioned Dharmarāja (Yudhiṣṭhira). Your father—tenderly attached to his son—asked you on the battlefield: “Is Aśvatthāmā slain, or is he not?”
कृप उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical tension between factual truth and the pressures of war: a single statement can become a moral turning point, especially when spoken to one known for dharma (Yudhiṣṭhira) and heard by one driven by parental love (Droṇa).
Kṛpa reports that, doubting the rumor, Droṇa—deeply attached to his son—approaches Yudhiṣṭhira on the battlefield and asks directly whether Aśvatthāmā has been killed or is still alive.