Shloka 12
Book 10, Adhyāya 12: Aśvatthāmā’s Request for the Cakra and the Brahmaśiras Context
“'भरतनन्दन! कुरुश्रेष्ठी] तदनन्तर जब तुम वनमें रहते थे, उन्हीं दिनों अश्वत्थामा द्वारकामें आकर रहने लगा। वहाँ वृष्णिवंशियोंने उसका बड़ा सत्कार किया ।। स कदाचित् समुद्रान्ते वसन् द्वारवतीमनु । एक एक॑ समागम्य मामुवाच हसन्निव,“एक दिन द्वारकामें समुद्रके तटपर रहते समय उसने अकेले ही मुझ अकेलेके पास आकर हँसते हुए-से कहा-- इति श्रीमहाभारते सौप्तिकपर्वणि ऐषीकपर्वणि युधिष्िरकृष्णसंवादे द्वादशो 5 ध्याय: इस प्रकार श्रीमह्याभारत सौप्तिकपर्वके अन्तर्गत ऐषीकपर्वनें युधिष्ठिर और श्रीकृष्णका संवादविषयक बारहवाँ अध्याय पूरा हुआ
vaiśampāyana uvāca | bharatanandana! kurūśreṣṭhī tad-anantaraṃ yadā tvaṃ vane vasasi sma, tadāśvatthāmā dvārakām āgatya nyavasat | tatra vṛṣṇivaṃśyais tasya mahān satkāraḥ kṛtaḥ || sa kadācit samudrānte vasan dvāravatīm anu | ekākinam upasaṃgamya mām uvāca hasann iva— ||
Vaiśampāyana said: “O delight of the Bharatas, best among the Kurus—after that, during the time you were living in the forest, Aśvatthāmā came to Dvārakā and took up residence there. The Vṛṣṇis received him with great honor. Once, while staying by the seashore near Dvāravatī, he approached me alone and spoke, as if smiling…”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage highlights how social duty and political custom (satkāra, honoring a guest) can be extended even to morally compromised figures, setting up ethical tension: outward respect and alliance-building may coexist with unresolved guilt and the consequences of violence.
During Yudhiṣṭhira’s forest period, Aśvatthāmā comes to Dvārakā and is honored by the Vṛṣṇis. Later, at the seashore near Dvāravatī, he privately approaches the narrator (Vaiśampāyana) and begins to speak, introducing the next development in the story.