Shloka 60
Aśvatthāmā’s Stuti of Rudra and Śiva’s Empowerment (सौप्तिकपर्व, अध्याय ७)
इत्युक्त्वा द्रौणिरास्थाय तां वेदीं दीप्तपावकाम् | संत्यज्यात्मानमारुहय कृष्णवर्त्मन्युपाविशत्,ऐसा कहकर द्रोणकुमार अश्व॒त्थामा प्रज्वलित अग्निसे प्रकाशित हुई उस वेदीपर चढ़ गया और प्राणोंका मोह छोड़कर आगके बीचमें बैठ गया
ity uktvā drauṇir āsthāya tāṁ vedīṁ dīptapāvakām | saṁtyajyātmānam āruhya kṛṣṇavartmany upāviśat ||
ഇങ്ങനെ പറഞ്ഞിട്ട് ദ്രോണപുത്രനായ അശ്വത്ഥാമാവ് ജ്വലിക്കുന്ന അഗ്നിയാൽ ദീപ്തമായ ആ വേദിയിൽ കയറുകയും, ജീവമോഹം ഉപേക്ഷിച്ച് അഗ്നിയുടെ നടുവിൽ ഇരിക്കയും ചെയ്തു॥
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how unchecked rage and the aftermath of adharma-driven violence can culminate in despair and self-destructive impulses. It implicitly warns that abandoning discernment (viveka) and responsibility after wrongdoing does not restore dharma; it deepens the tragedy.
Sañjaya reports that Aśvatthāmā, after speaking, climbs onto a fire-lit altar and, relinquishing attachment to his life, enters the dark, smoky course of the flames and sits within the fire—an act presented as a drastic, fatal turn in the aftermath of the night’s events.