Shloka 41
Sauptika Parva, Adhyaya 8 — Dhṛṣṭadyumna-vadha and the Camp’s Nocturnal Rout
तथैव गुल्मे सम्प्रेक्ष्य शयानान् मध्यगौल्मिकान् | भ्रान्तान् व्यस्तायुधान् सर्वान् क्षणेनैव व्यपोथयत्
tathaiva gulme samprekṣya śayānān madhyagaulmikān | bhrāntān vyastāyudhān sarvān kṣaṇenaiva vyapothayat ||
उसी प्रकार खेमे की मध्य-पंक्ति में तैनात रक्षक सैनिक भी थककर सो रहे थे; उनके अस्त्र-शस्त्र अस्त-व्यस्त पड़े थे। उनकी उस असहाय दशा को देखकर अश्वत्थामा ने क्षणभर में ही उन सबका संहार कर दिया।
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical degradation that can occur in war: when combat shifts from facing an armed opponent to killing exhausted sleepers, the act moves away from kṣatriya norms of fair battle and becomes a paradigmatic instance of adharma.
During the night attack, Aśvatthāmā surveys the camp’s middle-line guards, finds them asleep and unprepared with weapons in disarray, and swiftly kills them all.