Shloka 16

Devanagari script

तमुत्पतन्तं शयनाददश्व॒त्थामा महाबल:

Transliteration

tam utpatantaṃ śayanād adaśvatthāmā mahābalaḥ

Translation

Disse Sañjaya: Então Aśvatthāmā, de força imensa, viu-o erguer-se de um salto do leito—um movimento brusco que anunciava alarme e lançava a noite no ímpeto tenso e violento dos acontecimentos.

Word by Word

• तम्: him
• तम्: Karma
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• उत्पतन्तम्: leaping up / springing up
• उत्पतन्तम्: Karma
• Type: Verb
• Root: उत्-√पत्
• Form: Present active participle (Parasmaipada), Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• शयनात्: from (his) bed / from lying down
• शयनात्: Apadana
• Type: Noun
• Root: शयन
• Form: Neuter, Ablative, Singular

• ददर्श: saw
• ददर्श: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: √दृश्
• Form: Perfect (Liṭ), Third, Singular, Parasmaipada

• अश्वत्थामा: Ashvatthaman
• अश्वत्थामा: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: अश्वत्थामन्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• महाबलः: mighty / of great strength
• महाबलः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महाबल
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Aśvatthāmā
• bed (śayana)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores how swiftly fear and aggression escalate in a climate of vengeance: a single sudden movement becomes a trigger in a night governed by suspicion and violence, highlighting the ethical collapse characteristic of the Sauptika episode.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sanjaya reports that Aśvatthāmā notices someone abruptly rising from a bed. The moment functions as a narrative cue of alarm and imminent action within the nocturnal events of the Sauptika Parva.