Shloka 336
Sauptika Parva, Adhyaya 8 — Dhṛṣṭadyumna-vadha and the Camp’s Nocturnal Rout
स तानापततः: सर्वान् रुद्रास्त्रेण व्यपोथयत् । तब जन श्रेष्ठ योद्धाओंने सहसा पहुँचकर अभश्वत्थामाको चारों ओरसे घेर लिया; परंतु अश्व॒त्थामाने पास आते ही उन सबको रुद्रास्त्रसे मार गिराया
sa tān āpatataḥ sarvān rudrāstreṇa vyapothayat |
Sinabi ni Sañjaya: Nang sabay-sabay na sumugod sa kanya ang lahat ng mandirigmang iyon, pinabagsak niya sila sa pamamagitan ng sandata ni Rudra (Rudrāstra). Ipinakikita ng tagpong ito ang madilim na paglala ng digmaan sa gabi: nang mapaligiran sa malapitan, hindi pagpipigil ang isinagot ni Aśvatthāmā kundi isang banal na sandata, na nagbago sa sagupaan ng tao tungo sa isang mapaminsala at mabigat sa dharma na pagpatay.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how the use of divine weapons in close human conflict magnifies destruction and moral peril. In the Sauptika context, it points to the collapse of warrior-ethics (dharma-yuddha norms) and the tragic consequences of answering fear and encirclement with overwhelming, quasi-divine force.
As Aśvatthāmā is suddenly surrounded by opposing fighters who rush at him together, he immediately counters by deploying the Rudrāstra, striking them down en masse.