Shloka 17
अध्याय १ — न्यग्रोधवनोपवेशनम् तथा द्रौणिनिश्चयः
Night at the Banyan and Drauṇi’s Resolve
संजय उवाच गत्वा तु तावका राजन् नातिदूरमवस्थिता: । अपश्यन्त वन घोरं नानाद्रुमलतावृतम्
sañjaya uvāca | gatvā tu tāvakā rājan nātidūram avasthitāḥ | apaśyanta vana ghoraṃ nānādruma-latāvṛtam |
三阇耶说道：“大王啊，你方那三位勇士从那里走出不远便停下。就在那儿，他们看见一片可怖的森林，诸般树木与藤蔓交织密布。”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse uses setting as moral foreshadowing: a ‘dreadful forest’ mirrors the ethical descent that follows in the Sauptika narrative, reminding readers how violence and vengeance create conditions where dharma becomes obscured and fear governs action.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that the remaining Kaurava-side warriors move a short distance and stop, then notice a terrifying forest dense with trees and creepers—marking the transition into the nocturnal events of the Sauptika Parva.