Shloka 18
अध्याय १ — न्यग्रोधवनोपवेशनम् तथा द्रौणिनिश्चयः
Night at the Banyan and Drauṇi’s Resolve
ते मुहूर्त तु विश्रम्य लब्धतोयै्हयोत्तमै: । सूर्यास्तमनवेलायां समासेदुर्महद् वनम्
te muhūrtaṁ tu viśramya labdha-toyaiḥ hayottamaiḥ | sūryāstam-anavelāyāṁ samāsedur mahad vanam ||
Sañjaya said: “After resting for a short while and watering their excellent horses, they reached a great forest by the time of sunset. It was a wilderness inhabited by many kinds of deer and birds, thickly spread with diverse trees and creepers, and frequented by serpents of many species.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse is primarily narrative rather than doctrinal: it highlights the transition into night and an ominous natural setting. In the ethical frame of the Sauptika episode, the calm act of resting and watering horses contrasts with the violence that follows, underscoring how ordinary actions can precede grave adharma when intention turns toward cruelty.
After a brief halt to rest and water their horses, the party arrives at a vast forest by sunset. The forest is described as teeming with animals and birds, overgrown with trees and creepers, and inhabited by many serpents—setting the scene and mood for the events that unfold in the Sauptika Parva.