Shloka 122
Sauptika Parva, Adhyaya 8 — Dhṛṣṭadyumna-vadha and the Camp’s Nocturnal Rout
केचिदूचुर्न तत् क्लुद्धैर्धार्तराष्ट्र: कृतं रणे । यत् कृतं नः प्रसुप्तानां रक्षोभि: क्रूरकर्मभि:
kecid ūcur na tat kluddhair dhārtarāṣṭraiḥ kṛtaṃ raṇe | yat kṛtaṃ naḥ prasuptānāṃ rakṣobhiḥ krūrakarmabhiḥ ||
सञ्जय उवाच—केचिद् ऊचुः—नैतत् क्रुद्धैर्धार्तराष्ट्रैः सम्यग् युद्धे कृतं कर्म। यत् तु नः प्रसुप्तानां कृतं, तत् क्रूरकर्मभिः राक्षसैरेव कृतम्।
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical boundary in dharma-yuddha: killing opponents while they are asleep is condemned as outside legitimate combat, so blame is cast in moral terms—calling the act ‘rakshasa-like’ to mark it as adharma.
After the nocturnal slaughter in the camp, some survivors protest that the Kauravas did not defeat them in open battle; rather, they were attacked while asleep, and the perpetrators are denounced as cruel, demon-like agents.