Shloka 49
एवं स पीडितो राजलन्नश्वत्थामा महाबल: । शरजालै: परिवृत:ः कर्तव्यं नान्वपद्यत,राजन! इस प्रकार बाणोंके जालसे घिरकर पीड़ित हुए महाबली अश्वत्थामाको कोई कर्तव्य नहीं सूझता था
evaṁ sa pīḍito rājan aśvatthāmā mahābalaḥ | śarajālaiḥ parivṛtaḥ kartavyaṁ nānvapadyata ||
Sañjaya dit : Ô Roi, ainsi accablé et enfermé dans un filet de flèches, le très puissant Aśvatthāmā ne discernait plus ce qu’il convenait de faire. Dans la pression du combat, quand la force et la douleur submergent, même un grand guerrier peut perdre la clarté du devoir et de l’action juste.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even great strength does not guarantee moral clarity: when overwhelmed by suffering and hostile pressure, a person may fail to perceive kartavya (the right course of action). The verse highlights the ethical danger of confusion in crisis and the need for steadiness of judgment in dharma.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that Aśvatthāmā, though mighty, is being tormented and encircled by a dense barrage of arrows. Trapped in this ‘net’ of missiles, he becomes uncertain and cannot decide what action to take next.