Shloka 88
Sauptika Parva, Adhyaya 8 — Dhṛṣṭadyumna-vadha and the Camp’s Nocturnal Rout
उत्पेतुस्तेन शब्देन योधा राजन् विचेतस: । निद्रार्ताश्ष भयात॑'॒क्ष व्यधावन्त ततस्तत:
utpetus tena śabdena yodhā rājan vicetasaḥ | nidrārtāś ca bhayāt kṣipraṃ vyadhāvanta tatas tataḥ ||
Sañjaya dit : Ô roi, saisis par ce vacarme, les guerriers, qui gisaient sans conscience dans le sommeil, bondirent, égarés. Frappés de peur, ils s’enfuirent éperdument dans toutes les directions.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how violence carried out in confusion and at night breeds panic and moral disorder: when awareness is clouded (sleep, shock), fear overrides discipline, and the battlefield becomes a scene of uncontrolled flight rather than righteous combat.
During the nocturnal slaughter in the camp, a sudden loud uproar erupts. The sleeping warriors wake up disoriented, and, seized by fear, they scatter and run in different directions.