Shloka 38
इत्युक्त्वा रथमास्थाय प्रायादभिमुख: परान् | तमन्वगात् कृपो राजन् कृतवर्मा च सात्वत:
ity uktvā ratham āsthāya prāyād abhimukhaḥ parān | tam anvagāt kṛpo rājan kṛtavarmā ca sātvatāḥ ||
Sañjaya said: “Having spoken thus, he mounted his chariot and set out, facing toward the foes. O King, Kṛpa followed after him, and Kṛtavarmā of the Sātvata line as well.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how spoken intention immediately becomes action, and how companions’ choices to follow bind them to the moral weight of the leader’s course. In the Sauptika context, it foreshadows ethically fraught deeds by showing resolve, momentum, and complicity forming in real time.
After declaring his intent, Aśvatthāmā mounts his chariot and advances toward the enemy. Kṛpa and Kṛtavarmā follow him, indicating a small band moving together into the next phase of the Sauptika episode.