Shloka 126
Sauptika Parva, Adhyaya 8 — Dhṛṣṭadyumna-vadha and the Camp’s Nocturnal Rout
तदिदं नः कृतं घोर रक्षोभि: क्रूरकर्मभि: । इति लालप्यमाना: सम शेरते बहवो जना:
tad idaṁ naḥ kṛtaṁ ghoraṁ rakṣobhiḥ krūrakarmabhiḥ | iti lālapyamānāḥ samaśerate bahavo janāḥ ||
Sinabi ni Sañjaya: “Ang kakila-kilabot na kapahamakan na ito ay ipinataw sa amin ng mga rākṣasa na may malulupit na gawa.” Sa gayong pagdaing, maraming tao ang nakahandusay na magkakatabi, natutulog sa larangan ng digmaan—wasak ang loob at lupaypay sa sindak ng gabi.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the ethical horror of war when it descends into night-terror and indiscriminate cruelty: human beings, overwhelmed and powerless, can only lament as violence strips them of agency and dignity—highlighting the Mahābhārata’s recurring warning about adharma multiplying suffering.
Sañjaya reports that many people on the battlefield, exhausted and stricken, are lying together while crying out that rākṣasas of cruel deeds have caused their dreadful plight—evoking the chaos and fear associated with the nocturnal slaughter in the Sauptika episode.