Shloka 115
Sauptika Parva, Adhyaya 8 — Dhṛṣṭadyumna-vadha and the Camp’s Nocturnal Rout
सायुधान् साज्रदान् बाहून् विचकर्त शिरांसि च
sāyudhān sājradān bāhūn vicakarta śirāṃsi ca
Sañjaya said: He hewed off arms that still held weapons, and he also severed heads—an image of ruthless slaughter that underscores how, in the darkness of the Sauptika episode, warfare slips into indiscriminate violence and the collapse of restraint.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical degradation that occurs when violence is pursued without restraint: armed men are cut down brutally, suggesting a collapse of dharmic limits and the horror of adharma-driven vengeance.
In Sañjaya’s report of the Sauptika events, the attacker is described as hacking off weapon-bearing arms and severing heads, conveying the ferocity and indiscriminate nature of the nocturnal slaughter.