Shloka 28

Devanagari script

तस्मिन्‌ रात्रिमुखे घोरे दु:ः:खशोकसमन्विता: । कृतवर्मा कृपो द्रौणिरुपोपविविशु: समम्‌

Transliteration

tasmin rātrimukhe ghore duḥkhaśokasamanvitāḥ | kṛtavarmā kṛpo drauṇir upopaviviśuḥ samam ||

Translation

சஞ்சயன் கூறினான்—அந்தக் கொடிய இரவின் தொடக்கத்தில், துயரும் சோகமும் சுமந்த க்ருதவர்மன், க்ருபர், துரோணரின் மகன் (அஸ்வத்தாமன்) மூவரும் ஒன்றாக உள்ளே சென்று அமர்ந்தனர்।

Word by Word

तस्मिन्in that

रात्रि-मुखेat the beginning of the night

घोरेterrible

दुःख-शोक-समन्विताःendowed with sorrow and grief

कृतवर्माKṛtavarmā

कृपःKṛpa

द्रौणिःDrauṇi (Aśvatthāmā)

उपोपविविशुःentered / went in

समम्together, simultaneously

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Kṛtavarmā

Kṛpa (Kṛpācārya)

Drauṇi (Aśvatthāmā)

night (rātri)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse foregrounds the moral atmosphere preceding the Sauptika events: even victorious or surviving warriors are shown as inwardly afflicted by duḥkha and śoka. It hints that actions taken under the pressure of grief and rage can lead to ethically catastrophic choices, a recurring Mahābhārata warning about adharma arising from uncontrolled sorrow and vengeance.

What is happening in the narrative?

At the fearful beginning of night, the three Kaurava-aligned survivors—Kṛtavarmā, Kṛpa, and Aśvatthāmā—come together and sit down, setting the stage for the decisions and actions that will unfold in the Sauptika Parva.