Shloka 32
अध्याय १ — न्यग्रोधवनोपवेशनम् तथा द्रौणिनिश्चयः
Night at the Banyan and Drauṇi’s Resolve
तौ तु सुप्ती महाराज श्रमशोकसमन्वितौ । महाहशयनोपेतौ भूमावेव हाूनाथवत्
tau tu suptī mahārāja śramaśokasamanvitau | mahāśayanopetau bhūmāv eva hīnānāthavat ||
Sañjaya said: “But those two, O King, overcome by exhaustion and grief, though provided with a splendid couch, lay upon the bare ground like helpless, forsaken men. Seeing them thus, Droṇa’s son Aśvatthāmā was seized by wrath and bitter resentment; and at that time sleep did not come to him—he kept drawing long breaths like a serpent.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how grief and fatigue can strip away dignity and judgment: even with comforts available, the mind weighed down by sorrow collapses. It also foreshadows how unprocessed trauma and humiliation can harden into wrath and vindictive resolve, raising ethical questions about retaliation born from anger rather than dharma.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that two warriors are asleep on the ground despite having a fine bed, overwhelmed by exhaustion and sorrow. Aśvatthāmā sees this scene, becomes consumed by anger and resentment, and remains sleepless, breathing heavily like a serpent—setting the emotional stage for the night’s violent events of the Sauptika Parva.