Shloka 176
Sauptika Parva, Adhyaya 8 — Dhṛṣṭadyumna-vadha and the Camp’s Nocturnal Rout
निद्रया चैव पाउचाल्यो नाशकच्चेष्टितुं तदा । भारत! धृष्टद्युम्न भय और निद्रासे दबा हुआ था। उस अवस्थामें जब अश्वत्थामाने उसे जोरसे पटककर रगड़ना आरम्भ किया, तब उससे कोई भी चेष्टा करते न बना
nidrāyā caiva pāñcālyo nāśakac ceṣṭituṃ tadā | bhārata dhṛṣṭadyumnaḥ bhayena nidrayā ca dabāḥ san | tasyāvasthāyām aśvatthāmānaṃ taṃ balāt pātayitvā mardayitum ārabdhaḥ, tadā tasya kiñcid api ceṣṭituṃ na śaśāka ||
Sañjaya said: Overcome by sleep, the Pāñcāla prince could not act at that moment. O Bhārata, Dṛṣṭadyumna—crushed by fear and drowsiness—was unable to make any effort when Aśvatthāmā seized him, hurled him down with force, and began to grind him down. The scene underscores the moral darkness of the night-raid: a warrior is rendered helpless not by fair combat but by vulnerability, and violence is inflicted when resistance is impossible.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical collapse inherent in the Sauptika episode: violence is inflicted when the victim is incapacitated by sleep and fear, emphasizing how vengeance and rage can override the warrior-code and the norms of righteous combat.
Sañjaya describes Dṛṣṭadyumna, the Pāñcāla leader, as unable to resist because he is overwhelmed by sleep and fear; Aśvatthāmā forcefully throws him down and begins to crush/subdue him, marking a brutal moment in the nocturnal assault.