Shloka 62
Sauptika Parva, Adhyaya 8 — Dhṛṣṭadyumna-vadha and the Camp’s Nocturnal Rout
तस्यापि शरवर्षाणि चर्मणा प्रतिवार्य सः । सकुण्डलं शिर: कायाद् भ्राजमानमुपाहरत्,उसकी बाण-वर्षाको ढालसे रोककर अअभश्वत्थामाने उसके कुण्डलमण्डित तेजस्वी मस्तकको धड़से अलग कर दिया
tasyāpi śaravarṣāṇi carmaṇā prativārya saḥ | sakuṇḍalaṃ śiraḥ kāyād bhrājamānam upāharat ||
Sañjaya said: He warded off even that man’s shower of arrows with his shield; then he struck down and carried away the radiant head, still adorned with earrings, severing it from the body. The scene underscores the grim momentum of night-war violence, where martial skill and vengeance eclipse restraint and the ordinary protections of dharma.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how, in the Sauptika episode, warfare slips into ruthless excess: technical prowess (blocking arrows) is immediately followed by a trophy-like killing (carrying off the head). It invites reflection on how anger and vengeance can override dharmic restraint, especially in night attacks.
Sañjaya describes a combat moment where one warrior repels an opponent’s arrow-rain with a shield and then beheads him, taking the shining, earring-adorned head away—an image of decisive, brutal victory within the nocturnal violence of the Sauptika Parva.