Shloka 64
Sauptika Parva, Adhyaya 8 — Dhṛṣṭadyumna-vadha and the Camp’s Nocturnal Rout
शिलीमुखेन चान्येन भ्रुवोर्मध्ये समार्पयत् । तदनन्तर समस्त प्रभद्रकोंसहित बलवान् भीष्महन्ता शिखण्डी नाना प्रकारके अस्त्रोंद्वारा अश्वत्थामापर सब ओरसे प्रहार करने लगा तथा एक दूसरे बाणसे उसने उसकी दोनों भौंहोंके बीचमें आधात किया ।। ६३ ई ।। स तु क्रोधसमाविष्टो द्रोणपुत्रो महाबल:
śilīmukhena cānyena bhruvormadhye samārpayat | tadanantaraṃ samasta-prabhadraka-sa-hitaḥ balavān bhīṣma-hantā śikhaṇḍī nānā-prakārakaiḥ astraiḥ aśvatthāmāparaṃ sarvataḥ prahāraṃ kartum ārabdhavān tathā anyena bāṇena tasya ubhayor bhruvor madhye āhataḥ || 64 || sa tu krodha-samāviṣṭo droṇa-putro mahābalaḥ
आणखी एका शिलीमुख बाणाने त्याने त्याच्या दोन्ही भुवयांच्या मध्ये घाव घातला।
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how anger (krodha) intensifies conflict: even when struck and surrounded, the warrior’s wrath hardens resolve rather than restoring restraint. In the epic’s ethical frame, uncontrolled anger is a force that drives escalation and blinds judgment, especially in war.
Sañjaya describes Śikhaṇḍin, supported by the Prabhadrakas, launching a many-sided assault on Aśvatthāman and striking him between the eyebrows with a śilīmukha arrow. The closing phrase signals Aśvatthāman’s reaction: he is powerful and now seized by anger, setting up the next action.