Shloka 16

Adhyāya 6: Śibira-dvāra-sthita Bhūta-varṇana and Aśvatthāmā’s Śaraṇāgati to Mahādeva

Devanagari script

ततः स कुपितो द्रौणिरिन्द्रकेतुनिभां गदाम्‌

Transliteration

tataḥ sa kupito drauṇir indraketunibhāṃ gadām

Translation

そのときドローナの子は怒りに燃え、インドラの旗印のごとく輝くガダー（棍棒）を取り上げた。この比喩は戦の緊迫を高め、戦後において憤怒が行為を駆り立てることの倫理的危うさを告げる。

Word by Word

• ततः: then, thereupon
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततस्
• Form: Avyaya (ablatival adverb: 'from that/thereupon')

• सः: he
• सः: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Masculine, nominative, singular

• कुपितः: angered
• कुपितः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कुपित
• Form: Masculine, nominative, singular

• द्रौणिः: Drauni (son of Droṇa; Aśvatthāman)
• द्रौणिः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्रौणि
• Form: Masculine, nominative, singular

• इन्द्रकेतुनिभाम्: resembling Indra's banner
• इन्द्रकेतुनिभाम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: इन्द्रकेतुनिभा
• Form: Feminine, accusative, singular

• गदाम्: mace
• गदाम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: गदा
• Form: Feminine, accusative, singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Drauṇi (Aśvatthāmā)
• Indra
• gadā (mace)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights how anger (krodha) can seize a warrior’s mind and propel him toward destructive choices; the dazzling comparison to Indra’s banner underscores power and prestige, but also warns that such power becomes ethically perilous when guided by rage rather than restraint.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports that Droṇa’s son Aśvatthāmā, now furious, takes up a mace gleaming like Indra’s standard—an immediate preparation for violent action within the grim night-raid context of the Sauptika Parva.