Shloka 40
ययुश्न शिबिरं तेषां सम्प्रसुप्तजनं विभो । द्वारदेशं तु सम्प्राप्य द्रौणिस्तस्थौ महारथ:,प्रभो! वे तीनों पाण्डवों और पांचालोंके उस शिविरके पास गये, जहाँ सब लोग सो गये थे। शिविरके द्वारपर पहुँचकर महारथी अश्वत्थामा खड़ा हो गया
yayuś ca śibiraṃ teṣāṃ samprasuptajanaṃ vibho | dvāradeśaṃ tu samprāpya drauṇis tasthau mahārathaḥ ||
Sañjaya said: O mighty one, they went to the camp of those (the Pāṇḍavas and the Pāñcālas), where all the people lay fast asleep. Reaching the very gateway of the camp, Droṇa’s son, the great chariot-warrior Aśvatthāmā, stood there—poised at the threshold of a sleeping host, at the edge of an act that would test the bounds of warrior-ethics and dharma.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights a morally charged threshold: a warrior stands before a sleeping camp. It frames the coming action as one that will strain kṣatriya-dharma—because attacking the unsuspecting and asleep raises grave ethical questions even amid war.
Sañjaya reports that Aśvatthāmā and his companions have reached the Pāṇḍava–Pāñcāla camp at night. Everyone inside is asleep, and Aśvatthāmā stops at the camp’s gate, preparing for what follows.