Shloka 28
Sauptika Parva, Adhyaya 8 — Dhṛṣṭadyumna-vadha and the Camp’s Nocturnal Rout
अफक्रान्ते ततस्तस्मिन् द्रोणपुत्रे महारथे
apakrānte tatastasmindroṇaputre mahārathe
Disse Sañjaya: Então, quando o filho de Droṇa—o grande guerreiro de carro—se retirou daquele lugar, a situação mudou, preparando o terreno para o que se seguiria no sombrio desfecho da noite.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse functions as a narrative hinge: the departure of a powerful agent (Aśvatthāmā) signals how individual choices in war redirect events, highlighting the moral weight of actions and their cascading consequences.
Sañjaya reports that Droṇa’s son, the great warrior Aśvatthāmā, has withdrawn; this brief notice marks a transition to the next development in the Sauptika Parva’s night-time sequence.