Shloka 231
कृपोपदेशः — द्रौणेरनिद्रा च
Kṛpa’s Counsel and Drauṇi’s Sleepless Resolve
एवमुक्तस्ततो द्रौणिर्मातुलेन हित॑ वच: । अब्रवीन्मातुलं राजन् क्रोधसंरक्तलोचन:
evam uktas tato drauṇir mātulena hitaṁ vacaḥ | abravīn mātulaṁ rājan krodha-saṁrakta-locanaḥ ||
母方の叔父から善意の諫言を受けると、ドローナの子アシュヴァッターマは、怒りに目を赤くして、叔父に答えた。王よ。
कृप उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how krodha (anger) distorts perception and makes a person resistant to hita-vacana (beneficial counsel). Ethically, it warns that moral discernment collapses when one speaks and acts from wrath, especially in the volatile aftermath of violence.
Kṛpa has spoken well-intentioned words to Aśvatthāmā. In response, Aśvatthāmā—identified as Drauṇi, the son of Droṇa—answers his maternal uncle while visibly inflamed with anger (eyes reddened), signaling an escalating, emotionally driven turn in the episode.