Shloka 22
अध्याय १ — न्यग्रोधवनोपवेशनम् तथा द्रौणिनिश्चयः
Night at the Banyan and Drauṇi’s Resolve
उपेत्य तु तदा राजन न्यग्रोधं॑ ते महारथा: । ददृशुर्दिपदां श्रेष्ठा: श्रेष्ठ तं वै वनस्पतिम्,राजन! मनुष्योंमें श्रेष्ठ उन महारथियोंने पास जाकर उस उत्तम वनस्पति (बरगद)-को देखा
upetya tu tadā rājan nyagrodhaṁ te mahārathāḥ | dadṛśur dvipadāṁ śreṣṭhāḥ śreṣṭhaṁ taṁ vai vanaspatim ||
Sañjaya said: Then, O King, those great chariot-warriors approached the nyagrodha (banyan). The foremost among men beheld that excellent lord of trees—an ominously quiet pause in the night’s aftermath, as the warriors move from battlefield fury into stealth and resolve.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores a narrative shift: after open warfare, the warriors move into a quieter, deliberate phase. Ethically, it foreshadows how choices made in secrecy and at night can carry heavy moral consequence, contrasting heroic battle with covert action.
Sañjaya reports to the king that the great warriors go up to a banyan tree and look upon it. This sets the scene and location for the next actions in the Sauptika episode.