Shloka 24
Aśvatthāmā’s Buddhi-Doctrine and Nocturnal Incursion Resolve (अश्वत्थाम्नः बुद्धिविचारः सौप्तिकसंकल्पश्च)
मैं दिव्य धनुष और दिव्य अस्त्रोंको धारण करता हूँ तो भी युद्धमें अपने पिताको अन्यायपूर्वक मारा गया देखकर यदि उसका बदला न लूँ तो वीरोंकी सभामें क्या कहूँगा? ।।
so 'ham adya yathākāmam kṣatradharmam upāsya tam | gantāsmi padavīṁ rājñaḥ pituś cāpi mahātmanaḥ ||
«ແມ່ນວ່າຂ້າຖືຄັນທະນູທິບ ແລະ ອາວຸດທິບ, ແຕ່ໃນສົງຄາມເມື່ອເຫັນພໍ່ຖືກຂ້າຢ່າງອະທຳ ແລ້ວບໍ່ແກ້ແຄ້ນ, ໃນສະພານັກຮົບຂ້າຈະເວົ້າຫຍັງ? ດັ່ງນັ້ນ ມື້ນີ້ ຕາມຄວາມຕັ້ງໃຈຂອງຂ້າ ໂດຍພຶ່ງພາທຳຂອງກະສັດນັກຮົບນັ້ນ, ຂ້າຈະເດີນຕາມເສັ້ນທາງຂອງກະສັດ ແລະ ຂອງພໍ່ຜູ້ມີຈິດໃຫຍ່ຂອງຂ້າ»។
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how appeals to kṣatriya-dharma and honor can be used to justify violent retaliation; it frames revenge as ‘duty,’ revealing the ethical tension between personal grief, social expectations of warrior conduct, and the risk of adharma when vengeance becomes the motive.
Sañjaya reports a warrior’s vow: after seeing his father killed unjustly and recalling his own divine weapons, he resolves to act according to kṣatriya conduct and to follow the path taken by his father and by King Duryodhana—i.e., to pursue retribution in the aftermath of the great war.