Shloka 16
Sauptika Parva, Adhyaya 8 — Dhṛṣṭadyumna-vadha and the Camp’s Nocturnal Rout
तमुत्पतन्तं शयनाददश्व॒त्थामा महाबल:
tam utpatantaṃ śayanād adaśvatthāmā mahābalaḥ
Sinabi ni Sanjaya: Noon, nakita ni Aśvatthāmā, ang makapangyarihan sa lakas, na siya’y biglang tumalilisik na bumangon mula sa higaan—isang biglaang kilos na hudyat ng pagkabahala at ng marahas na pag-igting ng mga pangyayari sa gabing iyon.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores how swiftly fear and aggression escalate in a climate of vengeance: a single sudden movement becomes a trigger in a night governed by suspicion and violence, highlighting the ethical collapse characteristic of the Sauptika episode.
Sanjaya reports that Aśvatthāmā notices someone abruptly rising from a bed. The moment functions as a narrative cue of alarm and imminent action within the nocturnal events of the Sauptika Parva.