Shloka 140
Sauptika Parva, Adhyaya 8 — Dhṛṣṭadyumna-vadha and the Camp’s Nocturnal Rout
वसाश्रैवापरे पीत्वा पर्यधावन् विकुक्षिका: । नानावक्त्रास्तथा रौद्रा: क्रव्यादा: पिशिताशना:
vasāś caivāpare pītvā paryadhāvan vikuṣikāḥ | nānāvaktrās tathā raudrāḥ kravyādāḥ piśitāśanāḥ ||
सञ्जय उवाच—वसां पीत्वा अपरे विकुक्षिकाः पर्यधावन् सर्वतोदिशम्। नानावक्त्राश्च रौद्राः क्रव्यादाः पिशिताशनाः।
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the ethical degradation that accompanies adharma in war: when killing becomes indiscriminate—especially in a nocturnal slaughter—the aftermath is depicted as a realm of ghoulish consumption, symbolizing the loss of human restraint and the karmic darkness surrounding such acts.
Sañjaya describes terrifying flesh-eating beings at the scene: some drink fat and run about wildly, many-mouthed and fierce, feeding on raw flesh amid the carnage of the night.