Sauptika Parva, Adhyaya 8 — Dhṛṣṭadyumna-vadha and the Camp’s Nocturnal Rout
हृष्टानि व्यनदन्नुच्चैर्मुदा भरतसत्तम । पुरुषप्रवर! भरतश्रेष्ठ! इस प्रकार जब वह मार-काट मची हुई थी, उस समय हर्षमें भरे हुए राक्षस बड़े जोर-जोरसे गर्जना करते थे ।। ९३ $ ।। स शब्द: पूरितो राजन् भूतसंघैर्मुदायुतै:
hṛṣṭāni vyanadann uccair mudā bharatasattama | sa śabdaḥ pūrito rājan bhūtasaṅghair mudāyutaiḥ ||
Sañjaya said: “O best of the Bharatas, in the midst of that slaughter, the exultant beings roared aloud in joy. O King, the whole region was filled with that sound, as hosts of spirits, carried away by delight, raised their cries.”
संजय उवाच
The verse underscores the moral inversion that accompanies adharma: in scenes of indiscriminate killing, not only humans but even ominous, spirit-hosts are depicted as rejoicing. It frames the event as ethically dark and cosmically unsettling, where joy arises from cruelty rather than righteousness.
During the nocturnal slaughter described in the Sauptika Parva, Sañjaya reports to the king that loud roars and cries filled the area—raised by hosts of supernatural beings (bhūtas) who, delighted by the carnage, shouted exultantly.