Shloka 316
अश्वत्थामेति सोअ्द्यैष शूरो नदति पाण्डव | पाण्डुनन्दन! जिस वीरने जन्म लेते ही उच्चै:श्रवा अश्वके समान हिनहिनाकर पृथ्वी तथा तीनों लोकोंको कम्पित कर दिया था और उस शब्दको सुनकर किसी अदृश्य प्राणीने उस समय उसका नाम “अश्व॒त्थामा” रख दिया था, यह वही शूरवीर अश्व॒त्थामा सिंहनाद कर रहा है
aśvatthāmeti so ’dya eṣa śūro nadati pāṇḍava | pāṇḍunandana! yasya vīrasya janma-mātreṇaiva uccaiḥśravā-aśva-sadṛśaṃ hiṇahiṇā-śabdena pṛthivī ca trayo lokāś ca kampitāḥ | taṃ śabdaṃ śrutvā kaścid adṛśyaḥ prāṇī tadā tasya nāma “aśvatthāmā” iti cakāra | sa evāyaṃ śūravīro ’śvatthāmā siṃhanādaṃ karoti ||
Arjuna said: “O Pandava! Today that hero is roaring—Ashvatthama. O son of Pandu, he is the very warrior who, at the moment of his birth, neighed like the celestial horse Uccaiḥśravā, shaking the earth and the three worlds; and hearing that sound, some unseen being then bestowed on him the name ‘Ashvatthama.’ That same formidable hero now utters a lion-like roar.”
अजुन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage highlights how fame and fear can be generated through symbolic acts (a lion-roar, a birth-omen) and how warriors are judged not only by deeds but by the narratives attached to them—reminding readers to discern substance behind reputation in the ethical chaos of war.
Arjuna identifies the roaring warrior as Ashvatthama and recalls the legend of his naming: at birth he neighed like Uccaiḥśravā, shaking the worlds, and an unseen being named him accordingly. The recollection underscores Ashvatthama’s formidable presence on the battlefield.