Shloka 31
Sauptika Parva, Adhyaya 8 — Dhṛṣṭadyumna-vadha and the Camp’s Nocturnal Rout
स्त्रियस्तु राजन् वित्रस्ता भारद्वाजं निरीक्ष्य ता:
striyastu rājan vitrastā bhāradvājaṁ nirīkṣya tāḥ | hatvā pāñcālarājānaṁ rathamāruhya tiṣṭhati ||
サンジャヤは言った。「大王よ、バーラドヴァージャの子（アシュヴァッターマン）を見て女たちは恐怖に震え、悲痛な声で叫んだ。『逃げよ——急いで逃げよ！ あれが羅刹か人か、私たちには見分けがつかぬ。見よ——パンチャーラ王を討ち、戦車に乗り上がって、あそこに立っている！』」
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the moral shock of unchecked violence: when a warrior’s actions inspire terror among noncombatants, the scene signals a collapse of righteous conduct (dharma) and the spread of adharma through fear and brutality.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that the women, seeing Aśvatthāmā after he has killed Drupada, panic and cry out to flee, unsure whether he is a human or a demon, as he stands on a chariot after the killing.