Shloka 133
Sauptika Parva, Adhyaya 8 — Dhṛṣṭadyumna-vadha and the Camp’s Nocturnal Rout
निशाचराणां सत्त्वानां रात्रि: सा हर्षवर्धिनी । आसीजक्नरगजाश्चानां रौद्री क्षयकरी भूशम्
niśācarāṇāṃ sattvānāṃ rātriḥ sā harṣavardhinī | āsīj jananara-gajāśvānāṃ raudrī kṣayakarī bhṛśam ||
ราตรีนั้นเพิ่มพูนความยินดีแก่เหล่าสัตว์ผู้ท่องราตรี แต่สำหรับมนุษย์ ม้า และช้าง กลับเป็นราตรีอันดุร้าย นำความพินาศอย่างยิ่ง.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the moral inversion of war: the same night that becomes a source of strength and joy for predatory or nocturnal forces turns into catastrophic suffering for others. It underscores how adharma-driven violence thrives in darkness and how circumstances can empower destructive agents while devastating the vulnerable.
Sañjaya describes the ominous night during the Sauptika events: it favors the night-roaming beings (implying attackers moving under cover of darkness) and proves fiercely ruinous for the human camp and its animals—men, horses, and elephants—setting the tone for the nocturnal slaughter.