Shloka 31
अश्वत्थाम-शापः, परिक्षिद्भविष्यत्, मणि-न्यासः
Aśvatthāman’s Curse, Parikṣit’s Future, and the Mani’s Restitution
हतो दुर्योधन: पापो राज्यस्य परिपन्थिक: । दुःशासनस्य रुधिरं पीत॑ विस्फुरतो मया
hato duryodhanaḥ pāpo rājyasya paripanthi-kaḥ | duḥśāsanasya rudhiraṃ pītaṃ visphurato mayā ||
Vaiśampāyana said: “The sinful Duryodhana—an enemy and obstructer of our kingdom—has been slain. And as Duḥśāsana writhed and struggled, I drank his blood. Thus the vengeance has been fully repaid. Now those who might wish to speak can no longer censure us. Having subdued Droṇa’s son Aśvatthāman, we spared his life only because he is a brāhmaṇa and the son of our teacher.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the moral tension between righteous retribution and excess: vengeance is claimed as ‘fulfilled,’ yet the imagery of drinking blood underscores how war can push even justified anger toward transgressive violence; simultaneously, sparing Aśvatthāman due to brāhmaṇa-status and guru-lineage shows dharma operating as a restraint even amid hatred.
A speaker (reported by Vaiśampāyana) declares that Duryodhana has been killed and that Duḥśāsana’s blood was drunk while he writhed—presented as repayment for past wrongs; the statement adds that Aśvatthāman, though defeated, was left alive out of respect for his being a brāhmaṇa and the son of Droṇa.