Shloka 33

Devanagari script

सर्वे हि भस्मसाजन्नीतास्ते द्रोणेन रणाजिरे । अवशिषश्टश्न निहता द्रोणपुत्रेण वै निशि,“प्राय: ट्रोणाचार्यने ही सबको समरांगणमें भस्म कर डाला था। जो थोड़े-से बच गये थे, उन्हें द्रोणपुत्र अश्वत्थामाने रातको सोते समय मार डाला

Transliteration

sarve hi bhasmasāj jannītās te droṇena raṇājire | avaśiṣṭāś ca nihatā droṇaputreṇa vai niśi |

Translation

Vaiśampāyana dit : «En vérité, sur le champ de bataille, Droṇa les avait tous réduits en cendres. Et les rares survivants furent, la nuit, massacrés par le fils de Droṇa, Aśvatthāman, tandis qu’ils dormaient.»

Word by Word

सर्वेall (men)

हिindeed/for

भस्मसात्to ashes; utterly

जन्नीताःwere led/brought (to the state of)

तेthey/those

द्रोणेनby Droṇa

रणाजिरेin the battlefield

अवशिष्टाःremaining; those left over

चand

निहताःwere slain

द्रोणपुत्रेणby Droṇa's son (Aśvatthāman)

वैindeed/verily

निशिat night

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Droṇa (Droṇācārya)

Droṇa’s son (Aśvatthāman)

battlefield (raṇājira)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores the moral collapse that war can produce: even after open combat has devastated armies, hatred and vengeance can drive further violence—here, the killing of the remaining warriors at night—highlighting the ethical cost and karmic consequences of adharma in warfare.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana recounts that Droṇa had already annihilated many in battle, and that the few survivors were later killed at night by Droṇa’s son Aśvatthāman—an allusion to the infamous nocturnal slaughter of sleeping warriors.