Shloka 8
Aśvatthāmā’s Lamentation, Vow of Retaliation, and the Manifestation of the Nārāyaṇāstra (द्रोणपर्व, अध्याय १६६)
रथा रथवरैरेव समाजम्मुर्मुदा युता: । तस्मिन् रात्रिमुखे घोरे तव पुत्रस्य शासनात्
rathā rathavarair eva samājam mumudur mudā yutāḥ | tasmin rātrimukhe ghore tava putrasya śāsanāt ||
サञ्जयは言った。戦車隊は、車戦の最上の勇者たちに率いられて集まり、意気高く歓喜に満ちていた。あの恐るべき夜の訪れに際して、彼らがそうしたのは、あなたの御子の命によるものであった。
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how wartime enthusiasm can arise from hierarchical command rather than ethical reflection; it implicitly warns that obedience and group exhilaration, especially in fearful circumstances, may propel actions whose dharmic weight is not examined.
At the dreadful onset of night, the chariot forces—guided by elite chariot-warriors—assemble and exult, doing so under the directive of Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s son (Duryodhana), as Sañjaya reports to the king.