Shloka 32

Aśvatthāmā’s Lamentation, Vow of Retaliation, and the Manifestation of the Nārāyaṇāstra (द्रोणपर्व, अध्याय १६६)

Devanagari script

ततः प्रववृते युद्ध रात्री भरतसत्तम । उभयो: सेनयोर्घोरं परस्परजिगीषया,भरतसत्तम! फिर तो रात्रिके समय दोनों सेनाओंमें एक-दूसरेको जीतनेकी इच्छासे घोर युद्ध आरम्भ हो गया

Transliteration

tataḥ pravavṛte yuddhaṃ rātrī bharatasattama | ubhayoḥ senayor ghoraṃ parasparajigīṣayā ||

Translation

Sañjaya said: Then, O best of the Bharatas, a dreadful battle began at night between the two armies, each driven by the desire to conquer the other.

Word by Word

ततःthen, thereafter

प्रववृतेbegan, commenced, set in motion

युद्धम्battle, war

रात्रौat night

भरतसत्तमO best of the Bharatas

उभयोःof both

सेनयोःof the two armies

घोरम्terrible, fierce

परस्परmutually, against each other

जिगीषयाwith the desire to conquer

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Dhṛtarāṣṭra

the two armies (Pāṇḍava and Kaurava forces)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights how the drive to defeat the other side (jigīṣā) intensifies conflict, pushing warfare beyond normal limits—here, into the night—underscoring the ethical deterioration that prolonged war can bring.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that a fierce engagement erupts at night between the Pāṇḍava and Kaurava armies, with both sides pressing the fight out of mutual determination to win.