Shloka 33
धृतराष्ट्रने पूछा--संजय! द्रोणाचार्य छलपूर्वक मारे गये और नारायणास्त्र भी प्रतिहत हो गया, तब दुर्योधनके वैसा कहनेपर अश्व॒त्थामाने फिर क्या किया? ।॥। दृष्टवा पार्थाश्च संग्रामे युद्धाय समुपस्थितान् । नारायणास्त्रनिर्मुक्तांश्षरत: पृतनामुखे,क्योंकि उसने देख लिया था कि नारायणास्त्रसे छूटे हुए पाण्डव संग्राममें युद्धके लिये उपस्थित हैं और युद्धके मुहानेपर विचर रहे हैं
dhṛtarāṣṭra uvāca | sañjaya! droṇācāryaś chala-pūrvakaṁ māritaḥ, nārāyaṇāstraṁ ca pratihataṁ; tataḥ duryodhanasya tathā-vacane aśvatthāmā punaḥ kim akarot? | dṛṣṭvā pārthāṁś ca saṅgrāme yuddhāya samupasthitān, nārāyaṇāstra-nirmuktān śarataḥ pṛtanā-mukhe |
Dhṛtarāṣṭra said: “Sañjaya, Droṇācārya has been slain through a stratagem, and even the Nārāyaṇa-weapon has been checked. After Duryodhana spoke in that manner, what did Aśvatthāmā do next? For he saw the sons of Pṛthā—freed from the Nārāyaṇa-weapon—standing ready for battle in the fray, moving about at the very front of the army.”
धृतराष्ट उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse foregrounds the moral tension of war: even revered figures may fall through stratagem, and divine power can be restrained. It highlights how adharma-like tactics and the checking of celestial weapons intensify cycles of anger and retaliation, testing discernment and restraint in a kṣatriya conflict.
Dhṛtarāṣṭra asks Sañjaya what Aśvatthāmā did next after Droṇa was killed through a ruse and the Nārāyaṇāstra was neutralized. Aśvatthāmā observes that the Pāṇḍavas, having escaped the weapon’s effect, are again positioned at the battle-front ready to fight.