Shloka 18
सौप्तिकपर्व — धृष्टद्युम्नसारथिवृत्तान्तः
Report of the Night Raid and Yudhiṣṭhira’s Lament
संग्रामचन्द्रोदयवेगवेलं द्रोणार्णवं ज्यातलनेमिघोषम् । ये तेरुरुच्चावचशस्त्रनौभि- स्ते राजपुत्रा निहता: प्रमादात्
saṅgrāmacandrodayavegavelaṃ droṇārṇavaṃ jyātalanemighoṣam | ye terur uccāvacāśastranāubhis te rājaputrā nihatāḥ pramādāt ||
संग्राम-चन्द्रोदय से वेगवती तरंगों वाला, जिसकी गर्जना प्रत्यंचा और पहियों की ध्वनि थी—ऐसे द्रोण-समुद्र को ऊँचे-नीचे, नाना शस्त्रों की नौकाओं से जिन्होंने पार किया था, वे ही राजपुत्र अंत में असावधानी से मारे गए।
सूत उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights pramāda (heedlessness) as a decisive cause of downfall: even those who overcome immense dangers through courage and skill can be destroyed when vigilance and self-control lapse.
Sūta poetically recalls the terrifying ‘Droṇa-ocean’ of battle—its waves and roar likened to martial sounds—and notes that the very princes who once survived that ordeal by ‘boating’ across with their weapons were later killed due to negligence.