Shloka 68
Sauptika Parva, Adhyaya 8 — Dhṛṣṭadyumna-vadha and the Camp’s Nocturnal Rout
उस महाबली वीरने द्रुपदके पुत्रों, पौत्रों और सुहृदोंको ढूँढ़-दूँढ़कर उनका घोर संहार मचा दिया ।।
sañjaya uvāca | sa mahābalī vīro drupadasya putrān pautrān suhṛdaś ca dhūṇḍhayitvā dhūṇḍhayitvā teṣāṃ ghoraṃ saṃhāram acakarot || anyān anyāṃś ca puruṣān abhisṛtyābhisṛtya ca | nyakṛntad asinā drauṇir asimārga-viśāradaḥ ||
サञ्जयは言った。「その大力の勇士は、ドルパダの子ら、孫ら、そして友をも一人また一人と探し出しては、凄惨な殺戮を引き起こした。さらに他の男たちにも幾度となく近づき、剣の道に通じたドローナの子は、その刃で彼らを斬り伏せた。」
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how technical prowess in war (skill with the sword) becomes morally hollow when divorced from restraint and dharma. It presents the night-slaughter as a cautionary image of vengeance and unchecked rage overriding ethical limits, even against the vulnerable and unsuspecting.
Sañjaya describes Droṇa’s son (Aśvatthāman) moving through the camp, deliberately seeking out Drupada’s sons, grandsons, and allies, and killing them. He then continues by repeatedly approaching other men and cutting them down with his sword, emphasizing systematic, close-quarters killing.