Shloka 336
Sauptika Parva, Adhyaya 8 — Dhṛṣṭadyumna-vadha and the Camp’s Nocturnal Rout
स तानापततः: सर्वान् रुद्रास्त्रेण व्यपोथयत् । तब जन श्रेष्ठ योद्धाओंने सहसा पहुँचकर अभश्वत्थामाको चारों ओरसे घेर लिया; परंतु अश्व॒त्थामाने पास आते ही उन सबको रुद्रास्त्रसे मार गिराया
sa tān āpatataḥ sarvān rudrāstreṇa vyapothayat |
サンジャヤは語った。「その戦士たちが一斉に彼へ襲いかかると、アシュヴァッターマはルドラの武器（ルドラーシュトラ）によって彼らをことごとく打ち倒した。」この場面は、夜戦がいかに陰惨に激化するかを示す。至近で包囲されても彼は自制せず、神威の飛翔武器で応じ、人の争いを破滅的で、ダルマの上でも痛ましい大虐殺へと変えてしまう。
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how the use of divine weapons in close human conflict magnifies destruction and moral peril. In the Sauptika context, it points to the collapse of warrior-ethics (dharma-yuddha norms) and the tragic consequences of answering fear and encirclement with overwhelming, quasi-divine force.
As Aśvatthāmā is suddenly surrounded by opposing fighters who rush at him together, he immediately counters by deploying the Rudrāstra, striking them down en masse.