Shloka 306
Sauptika Parva, Adhyaya 8 — Dhṛṣṭadyumna-vadha and the Camp’s Nocturnal Rout
क्षिप्रं च समनहान्त किमेतदिति चाब्रुवन् । स्त्रियोंके रोनेकी आवाज सुनकर आस-पासके सारे क्षत्रियशिरोमणि वीर तुरंत कवच बाँधकर तैयार हो गये और बोले--'अरे! यह क्या हुआ?”
kṣipraṃ ca samanahānta kim etad iti cābruvan | striyoḥ kranditaśabdaṃ śrutvā samantataḥ sarve kṣatriyaśiromaṇayo vīrāḥ sadyaḥ kavacāni baddhvā sajjā babhūvuḥ—‘are! kim idaṃ jātam?’
Sañjaya said: Hearing the wailing cries of the women, the foremost warriors among the Kṣatriyas all around quickly fastened their armor and sprang to readiness, asking in alarm, “What has happened—what is this?”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even in a warrior culture, the cries of women—symbols of the vulnerable and the domestic sphere—immediately expose the ethical rupture caused by unchecked violence. Readiness to protect is a Kṣatriya duty, but the verse also highlights how war’s consequences spill beyond combatants into innocent suffering.
In the Sauptika Parva’s tense aftermath, the camp is disturbed by women’s lamentation. Hearing this, the leading Kṣatriya warriors quickly put on their armor and demand to know what calamity has occurred, signaling sudden danger and confusion.