Shloka 18

Devanagari script

अश्वत्थामोवाच एवमेव यथा<5त्थ त्वं मातुलेह न संशय: । तैस्तु पूर्वमयं सेतु: शतधा विदलीकृत:,अश्वत्थामा बोला--मामाजी! आप जैसा कहते हैं, निःसंदेह वही ठीक है; परंतु पाण्डवोंने ही पहले इस धर्म-मर्यादाके सैकड़ों टुकड़े कर डाले हैं

Transliteration

Aśvatthāmovāca—evam eva yathāttha tvaṃ mātuleha na saṃśayaḥ | tais tu pūrvam ayaṃ setuḥ śatadhā vidalīkṛtaḥ ||

Translation

اشوتھاما بولا—ماموں، جیسا آپ کہتے ہیں ویسا ہی ہے؛ اس میں کوئی شک نہیں۔ مگر اس دھرم کی حدبندی کا یہ ‘پل’ تو پہلے انہی نے سو ٹکڑوں میں توڑ ڈالا تھا۔

Word by Word

अश्वत्थामाAshvatthaman

उवाचsaid

एवम्thus, in this way

एवindeed, just

यथाas, just as

तथso, in that manner

त्वम्you

मातुलेO maternal uncle

नnot

संशयःdoubt

तैःby them

तुbut, however

पूर्वम्formerly, earlier

अयम्this

सेतुःboundary, dam; (figuratively) moral restraint

शतधाinto a hundred parts, a hundredfold

विदलीकृतःsplit, shattered, broken into pieces

Speaker

कृप उवाच

Characters & Entities

Aśvatthāmā

Kṛpa

Pāṇḍavas

setu (dharma-boundary/moral restraint)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse frames dharma as a protective boundary (setu). Aśvatthāmā argues that once moral limits are broken, further wrongdoing is rationalized as retaliation—highlighting how ethical collapse in war breeds self-justifying violence.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Sauptika Parva’s aftermath of the great war, Aśvatthāmā responds to Kṛpa, agreeing with him but insisting that the Pāṇḍavas had already violated the norms of righteous conduct, thereby ‘shattering’ the moral boundary first.