Shloka 119
वासवी-शक्तेः प्रयोगः, घटोत्कच-वधोत्तर-शोकः, व्यासोपदेशश्च
The Vāsavī Spear’s Use, Post-Ghaṭotkaca Grief, and Vyāsa’s Counsel
संजय उवाच अश्वत्थामानमुक्त्वैवं तत: सौबलमब्रवीत् | वृतं रथसहस्रेण हयानां रणशोभिनाम्,संजय कहते हैं--राजन्! अश्वत्थामासे ऐसा कहकर दुर्योधन संग्राममें शोभा पानेवाले घोड़ोंसे युक्त एक हजार रथोंद्वारा घिरे हुए शकुनिसे इस प्रकार बोला--
sañjaya uvāca | aśvatthāmānam uktvaivaṁ tataḥ saubalam abravīt | vṛtaṁ ratha-sahasreṇa hayānāṁ raṇa-śobhinām |
सञ्जय उवाच—अश्वत्थामानमुक्त्वैवं ततः सौबलमब्रवीत्। वृतं रथसहस्रेण हयानां रणशोभिनाम्॥
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how war leadership operates through counsel and shifting attention among key commanders. Ethically, it underscores the Mahabharata’s recurring tension: strategic coordination and martial splendor are narrated alongside the implicit cost of escalating violence.
Sanjaya reports to Dhritarashtra that after speaking to Ashvatthama, the speaker (contextually, Duryodhana in the Gita Press Hindi) turns to address Shakuni (Saubala), who is positioned amid a large protective formation of a thousand horse-drawn chariots.