Shloka 109
Sauptika Parva, Adhyaya 8 — Dhṛṣṭadyumna-vadha and the Camp’s Nocturnal Rout
उनके यन्त्र और कवच गिर गये थे। वे बाल खोले, हाथ जोड़े, भयभीत हो थरथर काँपते हुए पृथ्वीपर खड़े थे, किंतु उन दोनोंने उनमेंसे किसीको भी जीवित नहीं छोड़ा। शिविरसे निकला हुआ कोई भी क्षत्रिय उन दोनोंके हाथसे जीवित नहीं छूट सका ।।
kṛpaś caiva mahārāja hārdikyaś caiva durmatiḥ | bhūyaś caiva cikīrṣantau droṇaputrasya tau priyam ||
Sinabi ni Sañjaya: O dakilang hari, sina Kṛpa at ang matigas ang loob na Hārdikya (Kṛtavarman), kapwa may baluktot na hangarin, ay muling nagpasiyang gawin ang makalulugod sa anak ni Droṇa, si Aśvatthāman. Sa pagsalakay na iyon sa gabi, ang mga mandirigmang walang sandata at walang baluti—gusot ang buhok, magkadikit ang mga palad sa pagmamakaawa, nanginginig sa takot—ay hindi pinatawad; walang kṣatriya na lumabas mula sa kampo ang nakaligtas sa kamay ng dalawang iyon.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how attachment and revenge can drive warriors to abandon the restraints of kṣatriya-dharma. Seeking to ‘please’ a leader (Aśvatthāman) becomes a motive that overrides compassion and the ethics of fair combat, turning war into indiscriminate killing.
After the great war, during the night attack on the Pāṇḍava camp, Kṛpa and Kṛtavarman act in concert with Aśvatthāman. They kill those who emerge from the camp—even the unarmed and supplicating—so that none escape alive, and they do so with the intention of fulfilling what Aśvatthāman desires.