Shloka 131
Sauptika Parva, Adhyaya 8 — Dhṛṣṭadyumna-vadha and the Camp’s Nocturnal Rout
कुछ लोग एक-दूसरेसे लिपटकर सो रहे थे, दूसरे भाग रहे थे, तीसरे छिप गये थे और चौथी श्रेणीके लोग जूझ रहे थे, उन सबको द्रोणकुमारने वहाँ मार गिराया ।। दहामाना हुताशेन वध्यमानाश्च तेन ते परस्परं तदा योधा अनयन् यमसादनम्
dahyamānā hutāśena vadhyamānāś ca tena te | parasparaṁ tadā yodhā anayan yamasādanam ||
Sañjaya narrates that, amid the night massacre, the warriors—some burning in the blaze, others being cut down by Droṇa’s son—were driven to Yama’s abode. In the chaos, men clung to one another in sleep, fled in panic, hid in fear, or fought back; yet all were struck down. The verse underscores the ethical collapse of warfare when violence turns indiscriminate, consuming the helpless along with the resisting.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how war, when stripped of restraint, becomes ethically ruinous: fear, confusion, and indiscriminate killing erase the boundary between combat and helplessness, leading all toward death and moral degradation.
Sañjaya describes the nocturnal slaughter in the camp: warriors are burned by fire and killed by Droṇa’s son (Aśvatthāman). In the turmoil some sleep embracing others, some flee, some hide, and some fight, but all are driven to Yama’s abode.