Shloka 60
Sauptika Parva, Adhyaya 8 — Dhṛṣṭadyumna-vadha and the Camp’s Nocturnal Rout
सतुतं श्रुतकर्माणमास्ये जघ्ने वरासिना | स हतो न्यपतद् भूमौ विमूढो विकृतानन:
stutaṃ śrutakarmāṇam āsye jaghne varāsinā | sa hato nyapatad bhūmau vimūḍho vikṛtānanaḥ ||
Sinabi ni Sañjaya: Tinamaan ni Aśvatthāmā si Śrutakarmā—na pinupuri noon—sa mukha gamit ang kanyang napakahusay na tabak. Sa sugat na iyon, bumagsak siya sa lupa na walang malay, at ang kanyang mukha’y napangiwi at nabaluktot.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the moral degradation of warfare when rules are abandoned: in the Sauptika episode, violence becomes indiscriminate, and the dignity of combat is replaced by cruelty, illustrating adharma’s consequences.
Sañjaya narrates that Aśvatthāmā strikes the warrior Śrutakarmā in the face with a sword; Śrutakarmā collapses unconscious to the ground, his face distorted from the blow.