Shloka 31
Duryodhana-śibira-praveśaḥ — The Pāṇḍavas Enter the Kaurava Camp; The Burning of Arjuna’s Chariot
अश्वत्थाम्न: सनामान हत्वा नागं सुदुर्मते
aśvatthāmnaḥ sanāmānaṃ hatvā nāgaṃ sudurmate
Sañjaya said: Having slain the elephant named Aśvatthāman, O evil-minded one, they proclaimed it, exploiting the shared name to deceive—an act that clouded the moment’s moral clarity even amid the pressures of war.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even in war, manipulating truth through equivocation (using a shared name to create a false belief) raises serious ethical fault-lines; dharma is tested not only by actions but by intention and speech.
The narrative refers to the killing of an elephant bearing the name ‘Aśvatthāman’ and the strategic use of that fact to mislead others who would assume it meant the warrior Aśvatthāman—an instance of wartime deception centered on a namesake.