Shloka 28
Sauptika Parva, Adhyaya 8 — Dhṛṣṭadyumna-vadha and the Camp’s Nocturnal Rout
अफक्रान्ते ततस्तस्मिन् द्रोणपुत्रे महारथे
apakrānte tatastasmindroṇaputre mahārathe
Sañjaya said: Then, when Droṇa’s son—the great chariot-warrior—had withdrawn from that place, the situation shifted, setting the stage for what followed in the night’s grim aftermath.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse functions as a narrative hinge: the departure of a powerful agent (Aśvatthāmā) signals how individual choices in war redirect events, highlighting the moral weight of actions and their cascading consequences.
Sañjaya reports that Droṇa’s son, the great warrior Aśvatthāmā, has withdrawn; this brief notice marks a transition to the next development in the Sauptika Parva’s night-time sequence.