Shloka 67
Sauptika Parva, Adhyaya 8 — Dhṛṣṭadyumna-vadha and the Camp’s Nocturnal Rout
द्रुपदस्य च पुत्राणां पौत्राणां सुहदामपि । चकार कदनं घोरें दृष्टवा दृष्टवा महाबल:
drupadasya ca putrāṇāṁ pautrāṇāṁ suhṛdām api | cakāra kadanaṁ ghoraṁ dṛṣṭvā dṛṣṭvā mahābalaḥ ||
Sañjaya said: Seeing them again and again, the mighty one wrought a dreadful slaughter—of Drupada’s sons, his grandsons, and even their friends. The verse underscores the grim moral collapse that follows when vengeance and night-raid brutality replace the restraints of dharma in war.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how unrestrained rage in war leads to indiscriminate killing—extending beyond primary foes to their kin and companions—signaling a fall from dharma into adharma and intensifying the moral tragedy of the conflict.
Sañjaya reports that a mighty warrior, after repeatedly spotting targets in the camp, commits a horrific massacre, cutting down Drupada’s sons, grandsons, and their associates—part of the Sauptika episode’s night-time carnage.