Mahabharata 7.192.55 — Drona Parva, Adhyaya 192, Shloka 55
तमतथ्यभये मग्नो जये सक्तो युधिष्ठिर: । (अश्वत्थामा हत इति शब्दमुच्चैश्नचार ह ।) अव्यक्तमब्रवीद् राजन् हत: कुञ्जर इत्युत
tam atathyabhaye magno jaye sakto yudhiṣṭhiraḥ | (aśvatthāmā hata iti śabdam uccaiś nacāra ha |) avyaktam abravīd rājan hataḥ kuñjara ity uta ||
Sañjaya dit : «Yudhiṣṭhira, plongé dans la crainte du mensonge tout en étant avide de victoire, proclama à haute voix : “Aśvatthāmā a été tué !” Mais, ô roi, il murmura d’une voix indistincte les mots qui nuançaient : “l’éléphant a été tué”.»
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even when one avoids outright lying, speech can be shaped to mislead; this verse highlights the moral cost of strategic ambiguity in war and the tension between personal dharma (truthfulness) and perceived necessity (victory).
Yudhiṣṭhira announces loudly that “Aśvatthāmā is killed,” while muttering softly that it was actually an elephant named Aśvatthāmā—an utterance intended to break Droṇa’s resolve by making him believe his son has died.
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