Shloka 12
Adhyāya 6: Śibira-dvāra-sthita Bhūta-varṇana and Aśvatthāmā’s Śaraṇāgati to Mahādeva
अग्रसत् तांस्तथाभूतं द्रौणिना प्रहितान् शरान् । अश्वत्थामा तु सम्प्रेक्ष्य शरौघांस्तान् निरर्थकान्
agrasat tāṁs tathābhūtaṁ drauṇinā prahitān śarān | aśvatthāmā tu samprekṣya śaraughāṁs tān nirarthakān
Sañjaya said: He swallowed up those arrows, though discharged in that manner by the son of Droṇa. But Aśvatthāmā, seeing that his volleys of arrows were proving futile, took note of their ineffectiveness and reconsidered his course.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the moral and practical futility of uncontrolled violence: when aggression fails to achieve its aim, it often escalates into more extreme, ethically darker choices—an implicit warning about how adharma grows when restraint and right judgment are abandoned.
During the Sauptika events, Aśvatthāmā’s arrows—shot as an attack—are repelled. Observing that his arrow-storm is ineffective, he recognizes its futility, setting the stage for a shift in tactics amid the night’s conflict.