Shloka 153
Adhyāya 6: Śibira-dvāra-sthita Bhūta-varṇana and Aśvatthāmā’s Śaraṇāgati to Mahādeva
स तदासाद्य भूतं वै बिलं नकुलवद् ययौ । फिर बुद्धिमान् द्रोणपुत्रने वह अच्छी-सी तलवार तत्काल ही उस महाभूतपर चला दी; परंतु वह उसके शरीरमें लगकर उसी तरह विलीन हो गयी, जैसे कोई नेवला बिलमें घुस गया हो
sa tadāsādya bhūtaṃ vai bilaṃ nakulavad yayau |
स तद्भूतमासाद्य तत् बिलं नकुलवद् ययौ। ततः स धीरः खड्गं तस्मिन् प्राहिणोत्; स तु तस्य शरीरे लग्नोऽपि तत्रैव विलीनोऽभवत्, यथा नकुलो बिलं प्रविशेत्।
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse suggests that uncontrolled violence—especially in an adharma-tinged context like the Sauptika night attack—can meet resistance from forces beyond human strength; it cautions that power and weapons do not guarantee mastery when moral order is disturbed.
Sañjaya narrates that a mysterious being, once approached, vanishes into a cave/burrow with the quickness of a mongoose, evading direct confrontation and heightening the ominous, supernatural atmosphere of the episode.