Shloka 13
Sauptika Parva, Adhyaya 8 — Dhṛṣṭadyumna-vadha and the Camp’s Nocturnal Rout
पाज्चाल्यं शयने द्रौणिरपश्यत् सुप्तमन्तिकात् | क्षौीमावदाते महति स्पर्ध्यास्तरणसंवृते
Pāñcālyaṃ śayane drauṇir apaśyat suptam antikāt | kṣaumāvādāte mahati spardhyāstaraṇasaṃvṛte ||
Sañjaya said: Drauṇi (Aśvatthāman) saw the Pāñcāla prince asleep on his bed, close at hand—upon a large couch covered with a splendid, enviable white linen spread. The scene underscores the moral inversion of night-attack: a warrior confronts an unguarded, sleeping foe, where victory is sought not by open combat but by stealth.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical tension of warfare: encountering an enemy asleep emphasizes how violence can slip from regulated kṣatriya combat into adharma through stealth and helpless targets, foreshadowing the moral gravity of the Sauptika massacre.
Sañjaya narrates that Aśvatthāman (Drauṇi) comes close and sees a Pāñcāla warrior/prince asleep on a large bed covered with a fine white linen spread—setting the immediate scene for the nocturnal attack in the camp.