Shloka 27
हत्वा बहुविधा: सेना: पाण्डूनां युद्धदुर्मदः । कथंचित् संकटान्मुक्तो मत्तद्विरदविक्रम:,मतवाले हाथीके समान पराक्रमी रणदुर्मद अश्वत्थामा पाण्डवोंकी विविध सेनाओंका संहार करके किसी प्रकार उस युद्ध-संकटसे मुक्त हुआ था
hatvā bahuvidhāḥ senāḥ pāṇḍūnāṃ yuddha-durmadaḥ | kathaṃcit saṅkaṭān mukto matta-dvirada-vikramaḥ ||
Sañjaya said: Having slain the Pāṇḍavas’ forces of many kinds, Aśvatthāmā—intoxicated with the frenzy of battle and possessing the prowess of a maddened elephant—somehow managed to escape from that perilous crisis of war. The verse underscores the brutal momentum of combat and the moral tension between martial prowess and the devastation it brings.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how war amplifies destructive pride and frenzy (yuddha-durmada), and how sheer prowess can enable survival—yet it implicitly raises ethical unease about glory built upon slaughter.
Sañjaya reports that Aśvatthāmā has killed many divisions of the Pāṇḍava forces and, despite the surrounding danger, has managed to extricate himself from the immediate crisis of battle.