Shloka 163

Devanagari script

केशेष्वालभ्य पाणि भ्यां निष्पिपेष महीतले । अब वह शगय्यासे उठनेकी चेष्टा करने लगा। इतनेहीमें महाबली अभ्वत्थामाने दोनों हाथसे उसके बाल पकड़कर पृथ्वीपर पटक दिया और वहाँ अच्छी तरह रगड़ा

Transliteration

keśeṣv ālabhya pāṇibhyāṃ niṣpipeṣa mahītale |

Translation

Sañjaya said: Seizing him by the hair with both hands, Aśvatthāmā hurled him down upon the earth and crushed him there. The act underscores the brutal, unrestrained violence that characterizes the night-raid aftermath, where rage and vengeance eclipse the restraints of dharma in war.

Word by Word

• केशेषु: in/at the hair (by the hair)
• केशेषु: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: केश
• Form: Masculine, Locative, Plural

• आलभ्य: having seized/grasped
• आलभ्य: Karma
• Type: Verb
• Root: आ-लभ्
• Form: Absolutive (Gerund), Parasmaipada (usage), Non-finite

• पाणिभ्याम्: with (his) two hands
• पाणिभ्याम्: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: पाणि
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Dual

• निष्पिपेष: he crushed/ground
• निष्पिपेष: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: नि-ष्-पिष्
• Form: Perfect, 3rd, Singular, Parasmaipada

• महीतले: on the ground (earth-surface)
• महीतले: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: महीतल
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Aśvatthāmā
• earth/ground (mahītala)
• hair (keśa)
• hands (pāṇi)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights how, in the collapse of moral restraint after catastrophic war, vengeance can drive acts that violate the spirit of dharma. It serves as a cautionary depiction of cruelty and excess when anger replaces ethical discernment.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes Aśvatthāmā physically overpowering an opponent: he grabs the person by the hair with both hands, throws him to the ground, and crushes him there—an image of ruthless domination during the Sauptika night violence.