Shloka 13
द्रोणपर्व — अध्याय ८७: सात्यकेरनुयात्रा
Sātyaki’s resolve and departure to reach Arjuna
वितण्डालापसंलापैद्रूतवादित्रवादितै: । गीतैश्न विविधैरिष्टे रमते यो दिवानिशम्,सूत संजय! मेरे पुत्रोंके परम आश्रय जिस महाथनुर्थर द्रोणपुत्र अश्वत्थामाकी ब्राह्मण, क्षत्रिय और वैश्य सभी जातियोंके शिष्य उपासना (निकट रहकर सेवा) करते रहे हैं, जो वितण्डावाद, भाषण, पारस्परिक बातचीत, द्रुतस्वरमें बजाये हुए वाद्योंके शब्दों तथा भाँति- भाँतिके अभीष्ट गीतोंसे दिन-रात मन बहलाया करता था, जिसके पास बहुत-से कौरव, पाण्डव और सात्वतवंशी वीर बैठा करते थे, उस अश्वत्थामाके घरमें आज पहलेके समान हर्षसूचक शब्द नहीं हो रहा है
dhṛtarāṣṭra uvāca | vitaṇḍālāpasaṃlāpair drūtavāditravāditaiḥ | gītaiś ca vividhair iṣṭaiḥ ramate yo divāniśam | sūta sañjaya! mama putrāṇāṃ parama-āśrayaḥ sa mahādhanuṣmān droṇaputra aśvatthāmā, yasya brāhmaṇa-kṣatriya-vaiśyāḥ sarve śiṣyā upāsate (nikatam upaviśya sevāṃ kurvanti), yaḥ vitaṇḍāvāda-bhāṣaṇa-paraspara-saṃbhāṣaṇa-drutavāditra-śabda-nānāvidha-iṣṭa-gītaiḥ divāniśaṃ manaḥ pramodayati; yasya samīpe bahavaḥ kauravāḥ pāṇḍavāś ca sātvata-vaṃśyāś ca vīrā upaviśanti; tasya aśvatthāmnaḥ gṛhe ’dya pūrvavat harṣa-sūcakāḥ śabdā na pravartante |
Dhṛtarāṣṭra said: “O Sūta Sañjaya, that Aśvatthāmā—Droṇa’s son, a mighty archer and the supreme refuge of my sons—who used to delight day and night in disputations, speeches, mutual conversations, the quick rhythms of instruments, and many kinds of cherished songs; at whose side disciples of every order—brāhmaṇas, kṣatriyas, and vaiśyas—would stay close in attendance and service; and near whom many heroes of the Kauravas, the Pāṇḍavas, and the Sātvata line would sit—today, in his house, sounds of joy are no longer heard as before.”
धृतराष्ट उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights impermanence: even a celebrated warrior’s household—once filled with learning, music, and honored company—can fall into silence amid war. It also hints at ethical decline when delight in mere contentious disputation (vitaṇḍā) replaces pursuit of truth, and how attachment to power and ‘refuges’ becomes fragile in calamity.
Dhṛtarāṣṭra, anxious about the war’s turn, asks Sañjaya about Aśvatthāmā—Droṇa’s son and a key support of the Kauravas. He contrasts Aśvatthāmā’s formerly lively, prestigious household (students, debates, music, gatherings of heroes) with its present lack of joyful sounds, implying misfortune, fear, or grief after battlefield events.