Shloka 156
Sauptika Parva, Adhyaya 8 — Dhṛṣṭadyumna-vadha and the Camp’s Nocturnal Rout
अभ्यजानादमेयात्मा द्रोणपुत्रं महारथम् | अमेय आत्मबलसे सम्पन्न रणदुर्मद धृष्टद्युम्न उसके पैर लगते ही जाग उठा और जागते ही उसने महारथी द्रोणपुत्रको पहचान लिया
sañjaya uvāca | abhyajānād ameyātmā droṇaputraṁ mahāratham | ameya-ātmabalasaṁpannaṁ raṇadurmadam | dhṛṣṭadyumnaḥ pādābhyāṁ spṛṣṭaḥ prabuddhaḥ prabuddhaś ca mahārathiṇaṁ droṇaputram abhyajānāt | etādīdṛśakaṁ vṛttaṁ rājan suptajane vibho | sākṣād devarāja indro 'pi tāṁ daśāṁ prāpya teṣāṁ kiñcid api na vyakaroṣyat | prabho nareśvara tasmin rātrau sarveṣu suptyeṣv evaṁvidhā ghaṭanā samabhavat | tato janakṣayaṁ kṛtvā pāṇḍavānāṁ mahātyayam |
सञ्जय उवाच—धृष्टद्युम्नोऽमेयात्मा पादस्पर्शमात्रेणैव प्रबुद्धः प्रबुद्धश्च महारथं द्रोणपुत्रमश्वत्थामानं रणदुर्मदं धृष्टं चात्मबलसम्पन्नमभ्यजानात्। एतदीदृशकं वृत्तं राजन् विभो सुप्तजनेषु सति। तस्मिन् काले देवराजोऽपि शक्रः साक्षान्न तान् निवारयितुं शक्तः। ततः स जनक्षयं कृत्वा पाण्डवानां महात्ययं चकार।
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage underscores the moral collapse of warfare when combat shifts from open battle to killing the sleeping; it frames the night slaughter as a catastrophic, ethically charged turning point whose consequences exceed ordinary restraint—even divine power is invoked to stress the extremity of the situation.
During the night, Dhrishtadyumna is awakened by a touch at his feet and immediately recognizes Aśvatthāman (Drona’s son), described as a formidable, battle-maddened warrior. Sañjaya reports that, with everyone asleep, a dreadful incident unfolds, culminating in a mass killing that becomes a great calamity for the Pāṇḍavas.