Shloka 34
Sauptika Parva, Adhyaya 8 — Dhṛṣṭadyumna-vadha and the Camp’s Nocturnal Rout
धृष्टद्युम्नं च हत्वा स तांश्वैवास्प पदानुगान्
dhṛṣṭadyumnaṃ ca hatvā sa tāñ śvaivāspa-padānugān
Sañjaya said: Having slain Dhṛṣṭadyumna, he then struck down those others as well—followers who moved in the very footsteps of Aśvatthāman. The verse underscores the grim momentum of nocturnal vengeance: once the boundary of righteous restraint is crossed, violence spreads from the principal target to the surrounding adherents, deepening the ethical collapse of the act.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how vengeance and adharma in war tend to escalate: after killing a principal enemy, the violence extends to associates and followers, showing the moral contagion of unchecked retaliation.
Sañjaya reports that after Dhṛṣṭadyumna is slain, the killer proceeds to kill others as well—those described as followers moving in Aśvatthāman’s footsteps—continuing the chain of deaths in the Sauptika night episode.