Shloka 31
Sauptika Parva, Adhyaya 8 — Dhṛṣṭadyumna-vadha and the Camp’s Nocturnal Rout
स्त्रियस्तु राजन् वित्रस्ता भारद्वाजं निरीक्ष्य ता:
striyastu rājan vitrastā bhāradvājaṁ nirīkṣya tāḥ | hatvā pāñcālarājānaṁ rathamāruhya tiṣṭhati ||
Sinabi ni Sañjaya: “O Hari, nang makita ng mga babae ang anak ni Bhāradvāja (si Aśvatthāmā), sila’y nanginig sa takot at sumigaw sa paghihirap: ‘Takbo—takbo agad! Hindi namin malaman kung siya’y isang rākṣasa o tao. Tingnan ninyo—pinatay niya ang hari ng mga Pāñcāla, saka sumampa sa karwaheng pandigma at nakatayo roon!’”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the moral shock of unchecked violence: when a warrior’s actions inspire terror among noncombatants, the scene signals a collapse of righteous conduct (dharma) and the spread of adharma through fear and brutality.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that the women, seeing Aśvatthāmā after he has killed Drupada, panic and cry out to flee, unsure whether he is a human or a demon, as he stands on a chariot after the killing.