Shloka 53
Sauptika Parva, Adhyaya 8 — Dhṛṣṭadyumna-vadha and the Camp’s Nocturnal Rout
खड्गं च विमलं दिव्यं जातरूपपरिष्कृतम् । तदनन्तर पिताके वधका स्मरण करके वह अत्यन्त कुपित हो उठा और रथकी बैठकसे उतरकर सहसों चन्द्राकार चिह्नोंसे युक्त चमकीली ढाल और सुवर्णभूषित दिव्य एवं निर्मल खडग लेकर युद्धमें बड़ी उतावलीके साथ उनकी ओर दौड़ा ।।
khaḍgaṃ ca vimalaṃ divyaṃ jātarūpa-pariṣkṛtam | tad-anantaraṃ pitṛ-vadhaka-smaraṇāt sa atyantaṃ kupito 'bhavat, ratha-niṣaṇṇāt avatīrya sahasra-candrākāra-cihnaiḥ yuktāṃ camatkṛtāṃ phalakāṃ gṛhītvā suvarṇa-bhūṣitaṃ divyaṃ vimalaṃ ca khaḍgaṃ gṛhītvā yuddhe mahā-utsukatayā teṣāṃ prati dhāvata | draupadeyān abhidrutya khaḍgena vyadhamad balī; rājann, tadā puruṣa-siṃha aśvatthāmā tasmin mahā-samare prativindhyaṃ kukṣau asiṃ praveśya jaghāna; sa hataḥ pṛthivyāṃ papāta |
サンジャヤは言った。黄金で飾られた、汚れなき神妙の剣を手に取ると、父を討たれたことを思い出して、彼は烈しい怒りに呑まれた。戦車の座から跳び降り、無数の月形の紋を刻んだ眩い盾を掴み、金飾りの清らかな剣を携えて、戦いへと大急ぎで彼らに突進した。ドラウパディーの子らに斬りかかり、その剛勇は剣で彼らを切り裂いた。王よ、その大合戦において、人中の獅子アシュヴァッターマは、プラティヴィンディヤの腹に刃を突き立てて殺し、討たれた者は大地に倒れ伏した。
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Unchecked vengeance—especially when fueled by grief—can eclipse dharma and lead to acts that stain victory itself. The episode highlights how retaliatory anger produces disproportionate harm, targeting the innocent and undermining the moral order that war is supposed to preserve.
Sañjaya describes Aśvatthāmā, enraged by remembrance of his father’s killing, arming himself with a divine, gold-adorned sword and a marked shield, then rushing to attack. He slaughters the sons of Draupadī; specifically, he kills Prativindhya by stabbing him in the abdomen, and the slain falls to the ground.