Shloka 71
Sauptika Parva, Adhyaya 8 — Dhṛṣṭadyumna-vadha and the Camp’s Nocturnal Rout
वहन्तीं विविधान् प्रेतान् पाशबद्धान् विमूर्धजान् | तथैव च सदा राजन् न्यस्तशस्त्रान् महारथान्
sañjaya uvāca |
vahantīṁ vividhān pretān pāśabaddhān vimūrdhajān |
tathaiva ca sadā rājan nyastaśastrān mahārathān ||
サञ्जयは言った。「大王よ、夢の中で彼女は、頭髪を剃り落とされ、己の投げ縄に固く縛られたさまざまな亡霊どもを運び去る姿として見られた。さらにまた大王よ、武器を置いたままの大車戦の勇士たちをも、いつも運び去る姿として見られたのだ。」
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the moral and psychological weight of war: even mighty warriors are shown as vulnerable—disarmed and carried away by death—suggesting that violence and adharma culminate in inevitable ruin, often foreshadowed through ominous dreams.
Sañjaya reports to the king that ominous dream-visions appeared: a fearsome feminine figure associated with death is seen carrying away spirits bound in her nooses and also great warriors who have laid aside their weapons—portending slaughter in the Sauptika episode.