Shloka 4
सौप्तिकपर्व — धृष्टद्युम्नसारथिवृत्तान्तः
Report of the Night Raid and Yudhiṣṭhira’s Lament
एतैर्नरगजाश्रानां प्रासशक्तिपरश्रवधथैः । सहस्राणि निकृन्तद्धिर्नि:शेषं ते बल॑ कृतम्,इन तीनोंने प्रास, शक्ति और फरसोंद्वारा सहस्रों मनुष्यों, घोड़ों और हाथियोंको काट- काटकर आपकी सारी सेनाको समाप्त कर दिया है
etair nara-gajāśvānāṃ prāsa-śakti-paraśvadhaiḥ | sahasrāṇi nikṛntadbhir niḥśeṣaṃ te balaṃ kṛtam ||
Sūta berkata: “Dengan tombak, lembing, dan kapak itu, mereka menebas ribuan prajurit, kuda, dan gajah; demikianlah seluruh bala tentaramu dibuat habis tanpa sisa.”
सूत उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the catastrophic moral and human cost of unchecked violence: the annihilation of an army is presented as total and indiscriminate, extending beyond warriors to animals, highlighting how warfare—especially in a ruthless context—erodes ethical restraint and multiplies suffering.
Sūta reports that ‘these’ attackers, using spears, javelins, and axes, have slaughtered thousands of men along with horses and elephants, leaving the addressed party’s forces completely destroyed—an account consistent with the Sauptika Parva’s night-time devastation of the camp.