Shloka 316
Duryodhana-śibira-praveśaḥ — The Pāṇḍavas Enter the Kaurava Camp; The Burning of Arjuna’s Chariot
आचार्यो न्यासित: शस्त्र कि तन्न विदितं मया । “दुर्मते! अश्वत्थामाके सदृश नामवाले एक हाथीको मारकर तुमलोगोंने द्रोणाचार्यके हाथसे शस्त्र नीचे डलवा दिया था, क्या वह मुझे ज्ञात नहीं है?
ācāryo nyāsitaḥ śastraṃ ki tan na viditaṃ mayā | durmate aśvatthāmāke sadṛśa-nāmavāle eka-hastinaṃ mārayan yūyaṃ droṇācāryasya hastāt śastraṃ nyāsayāmāsaḥ, ki tan na jñātaṃ mayā ||
Sanjaya berkata: “Sang Guru meletakkan senjatanya—apakah kau kira aku tidak tahu bagaimana itu terjadi? Wahai yang berniat jahat, dengan membunuh seekor gajah yang bernama sama, ‘Aśvatthāmā’, kalian membuat Droṇācārya menjatuhkan senjatanya dari tangan. Apakah itu tidak kuketahui?”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical cost of deception in war: even when used for strategic victory, a ruse that exploits a revered teacher’s trust (Droṇa’s paternal attachment to Aśvatthāmā) is remembered as morally blameworthy and corrosive to dharma.
Sañjaya recalls the earlier battlefield episode in which Droṇa was induced to abandon fighting by the report of “Aśvatthāmā’s death,” made plausible through the killing of an elephant bearing that name; this led Droṇa to lay down his weapons.