Shloka 145

Sauptika Parva, Adhyaya 8 — Dhṛṣṭadyumna-vadha and the Camp’s Nocturnal Rout

Devanagari script

यथाप्रतिज्ञं तत्‌ कर्म कृत्वा द्रौणायनि: प्रभो

Transliteration

yathāpratijñaṃ tat karma kṛtvā drauṇāyaniḥ prabho

Translation

サンジャヤは言った。主よ、ドローナの子は誓いのとおり寸分違わずその業を成し遂げ、陰惨な決意を果たした。誓願が戦の怒りに結びつくとき、人は取り返しのつかぬ非道へと駆り立てられることを、この行いは示している。

Word by Word

• यथा: as, according to
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यथा

• प्रतिज्ञम्: the vow/promise
• प्रतिज्ञम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रतिज्ञा
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

• तत्: that
• तत्: Karma
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• कर्म: deed, act
• कर्म: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: कर्मन्
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• कृत्वा: having done
• Type: Verb
• Root: कृ
• Form: क्त्वा (absolutive/gerund), Parasmaipada (usage-neutral here)

• द्रौणायनिः: Drauni (son of Drona, i.e., Ashvatthaman)
• द्रौणायनिः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्रौणायनि
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• प्रभो: O lord
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रभु
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Drauṇāyani (Aśvatthāman)
• Droṇa

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the moral tension between keeping a vow and the ethical quality of the vowed act: fidelity to a promise does not sanctify an action if the action itself is unrighteous, especially in the heat of vengeance-driven warfare.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports to the listener (addressed as 'prabho') that Drauṇāyani—Aśvatthāman, son of Droṇa—has completed the deed he had resolved upon, indicating the fulfillment of his pledged course of action in the Sauptika episode.