Shloka 26
Sauptika Parva, Adhyaya 8 — Dhṛṣṭadyumna-vadha and the Camp’s Nocturnal Rout
त॑ तु तेनाभ्युपायेन गमयित्वा यमक्षयम्
taṁ tu tenābhyupāyena gamayitvā yamakṣayam, rathena śibiraṁ prāyāj jighāṁsur dhṛṣato balī |
サンジャヤは言った。かの策によって、彼はドリシュタデュムナを滅びなきヤマの界へと送り込んだ。ついで、敵を屠らんとする剛勇アシュヴァッターマは戦車で陣営へ向かった。彼は壮麗な戦車に乗り、四方がこだまするほど咆哮し、次々と各陣営を襲撃し始めた。
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how, in the moral collapse of war’s final phase, strategic killing and terror replace fair combat. It invites reflection on dharma in warfare: when violence is pursued through deceit and indiscriminate assault, ‘strength’ becomes ethically compromised and the boundary between heroism and atrocity blurs.
After killing Dhṛṣṭadyumna by a particular stratagem, Aśvatthāmā returns to his chariot, roars to intimidate and rally himself, and begins attacking the various camps one after another—setting the stage for the broader slaughter of the sleeping warriors in the Sauptika episode.