Shloka 54
Sauptika Parva, Adhyaya 8 — Dhṛṣṭadyumna-vadha and the Camp’s Nocturnal Rout
ततः स नरशार्दूल: प्रतिविन्धयं महाहवे । कुक्षिदेशेडवधीद् राजन् स हतो न्यपतद् भुवि
tataḥ sa naraśārdūlaḥ prativindhyaṁ mahāhave | kukṣideśe 'vadhīd rājan sa hato nyapatad bhuvi ||
サンジャヤは言った。ついに人中の虎アシュヴァッターマは、大戦のさなかプラティヴィンディヤを討ち取った。王よ、腹部を剣で斬りつけて命を奪い、討たれた戦士は大地に倒れた。
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how vengeance and rage in war can eclipse dharma: the killing is described with stark physicality, pointing to the moral collapse of a night-raid where compassion and the codes of fair combat are cast aside.
Sañjaya reports to King Dhṛtarāṣṭra that Aśvatthāmā, in the course of the Sauptika episode, stabs Prativindhya in the abdomen with a sword, killing him; the slain warrior falls to the ground.