Shloka 24
सौप्तिकपर्व — धृष्टद्युम्नसारथिवृत्तान्तः
Report of the Night Raid and Yudhiṣṭhira’s Lament
“देखो, प्रमादके ही कारण ये इन्द्रके समान पराक्रमी, राजाओंके पुत्र और पौत्र सामान्य रूपसे मार डाले गये, जैसे समृद्धिशाली व्यापारी समुद्रको पार करके प्रमादवश अवहेलना करनेके कारण छोटी-सी नदीमें डूब गये हों ।।
sūta uvāca |
paśyata pramādakāraṇād ime indrasamāḥ parākramiṇaḥ rājaputrāḥ pautrāś ca sāmānyato hatāḥ | yathā samṛddhā vaṇijaḥ samudraṃ tīrtvā pramādavaśād avajñānāt kṣudrāyāṃ nadīyāṃ nimagnāḥ syuḥ ||
amarṣitair nihatāḥ śayānā niḥsaṃśayaṃ te tridivaṃ prapannāḥ |
kṛṣṇāṃ tu śocāmi kathaṃ nu sādhvī śokārṇave sādya vinaṅkṣyatīti ||
苏多说道：“看哪——只因一念疏忽，这些如因陀罗般勇武的王子与王孙，竟被不分青红皂白地斩杀；仿佛富足的商人已渡过大海，却因轻慢与大意，反而溺死在一条小河之中。 那些被愤怒所驱、趁其熟睡而行杀戮的人——而被杀的诸人，毫无疑问已升至天界。唯独我忧心那位贞淑的克里希纳（德劳帕蒂）：她今日若沉入悲恸之海，怎能不至于毁灭？”
सूत उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse warns that pramāda (heedlessness) can undo even the greatest achievements: after surviving vast dangers (like crossing an ocean), one may still fall to a small, underestimated risk. Ethically, it also highlights the tragic cost of wrath-driven, rule-violating violence (killing sleepers) and shifts attention to the human aftermath—especially the crushing grief borne by Draupadī.
In the aftermath of the nocturnal slaughter in the Sauptika episode, Sūta reflects that mighty royal youths were killed while asleep due to negligence. He remarks that the slain have surely reached heaven, but he worries about Kṛṣṇā (Draupadī), who may be overwhelmed and ‘drowned’ in sorrow upon hearing of the deaths.