Shloka 158
Sauptika Parva, Adhyaya 8 — Dhṛṣṭadyumna-vadha and the Camp’s Nocturnal Rout
इदं हर्षात् तु सुमहदाददे वाक्यमुत्तमम् । तदनन्तर उन दोनोंका अभिनन्दन स्वीकार करके द्रोणपुत्रने उन्हें हृदयसे लगाया और बड़े हर्षसे यह महत्त्वपूर्ण उत्तम वचन मुँहसे निकाला-- ।। १५७ $ ।। पज्चाला निहताः: सर्वे द्रौपदेयाश्व॒ सर्वशः
pañcālā nihatāḥ sarve draupadeyāś ca sarvaśaḥ
Sañjaya said: “All the Pāñcālas have been slain, and the sons of Draupadī too—every one of them, without exception.” The line conveys the grim culmination of a night-raid: victory is reported not as righteous conquest but as total, indiscriminate destruction, sharpening the ethical tension of warfare when it slips into massacre.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores how war can devolve into adharma when it becomes total slaughter. By stressing “all…without exception,” it highlights the moral horror of indiscriminate killing and the karmic and ethical consequences that follow such acts.
Sañjaya reports the outcome of the nocturnal attack associated with the Sauptika episode: the Pāñcāla forces and Draupadī’s sons have been killed completely, marking a catastrophic turn after the main battle has effectively ended.