Shloka 157
Sauptika Parva, Adhyaya 8 — Dhṛṣṭadyumna-vadha and the Camp’s Nocturnal Rout
दिष्टया दिष्टयैव चान्योन्यं समेत्योचुर्महारथा: । उस समय पाण्डवोंके लिये महान् विनाशकारी जनसंहार करके वे तीनों महारथी जब परस्पर मिले, तब आपसमें कहने लगे--'“बड़े सौभाग्यसे यह कार्य सिद्ध हुआ है ।। पर्यष्वजत् ततो द्रौणिस्ताभ्यां सम्प्रतिनन्दित:
diṣṭyā diṣṭyaiva cānyonyaṁ sametyocur mahārathāḥ | us samaya pāṇḍavānāṁ kṛte mahān vināśakārī jana-saṁhāraṁ kṛtvā te trayo mahārathī yadā parasparaṁ militāḥ, tadā anyonyaṁ ūcuḥ— “baḍe saubhāgya se yaha kārya siddha huā hai” || paryaṣvajat tato drauṇis tābhyāṁ sampratinanditaḥ ||
Sañjaya said: “Fortune upon fortune!”—so the great chariot-warriors exclaimed when they met one another. Having, at that time, carried out a vast and ruinous slaughter against the Pāṇḍavas, those three mahārathas, on coming together, spoke among themselves: “By great good luck this deed has been accomplished.” Thereupon Drauṇi (Aśvatthāmā), warmly congratulated by the other two, embraced them. The verse underscores the moral inversion of war’s aftermath: success is celebrated even when it is achieved through a night of indiscriminate killing, highlighting the collapse of dharmic restraint in the Sauptika episode.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how the pursuit of victory can distort moral judgment: the perpetrators celebrate “success” immediately after a catastrophic slaughter, illustrating the erosion of dharma and the ethical cost of vengeance-driven warfare.
After carrying out a devastating massacre against the Pāṇḍava side, the three surviving Kaurava-aligned mahārathas meet, congratulate one another on the deed, and Drauṇi (Aśvatthāmā) embraces the other two, signaling their shared approval and solidarity.