Shloka 18
Devanagari script
अश्वत्थामोवाच एवमेव यथा<5त्थ त्वं मातुलेह न संशय: । तैस्तु पूर्वमयं सेतु: शतधा विदलीकृत:
Transliteration
Aśvatthāmovāca—evam eva yathāttha tvaṃ mātuleha na saṃśayaḥ | tais tu pūrvam ayaṃ setuḥ śatadhā vidalīkṛtaḥ ||
Translation
阿湿婆他摩说道：“正是如此——如你所言，舅父，毫无疑问。然而，正是他们先把这‘克制之桥’、这达摩的界限，击得粉碎，裂作百段。”
Word by Word
अश्वत्थामाAshvatthaman
अश्वत्थामा:
Karta
TypeNoun
Rootअश्वत्थामन्
FormMasculine, Nominative, Singular
उवाचsaid
उवाच:
TypeVerb
Rootवच्
FormPerfect (Paroksha-bhuta), 3rd, Singular, Parasmaipada
एवम्thus, in this way
एवम्:
TypeIndeclinable
Rootएवम्
एवindeed, just
एव:
TypeIndeclinable
Rootएव
यथाas, just as
यथा:
TypeIndeclinable
Rootयथा
तथso, in that manner
तथ:
TypeIndeclinable
Rootतथा
त्वम्you
त्वम्:
Karta
TypePronoun
Rootयुष्मद्
Form—, Nominative, Singular
मातुलेO maternal uncle
मातुले:
TypeNoun
Rootमातुल
FormMasculine, Vocative, Singular
नnot
न:
TypeIndeclinable
Rootन
संशयःdoubt
संशयः:
TypeNoun
Rootसंशय
FormMasculine, Nominative, Singular
तैःby them
तैः:
Karana
TypePronoun
Rootतद्
FormMasculine/Neuter, Instrumental, Plural
तुbut, however
तु:
TypeIndeclinable
Rootतु
पूर्वम्formerly, earlier
पूर्वम्:
TypeIndeclinable
Rootपूर्व
अयम्this
अयम्:
TypePronoun
Rootइदम्
FormMasculine, Nominative, Singular
सेतुःboundary, dam; (figuratively) moral restraint
सेतुः:
Karma
TypeNoun
Rootसेतु
FormMasculine, Nominative, Singular
शतधाinto a hundred parts, a hundredfold
शतधा:
TypeIndeclinable
Rootशतधा
विदलीकृतःsplit, shattered, broken into pieces
विदलीकृतः:
TypeVerb
Rootवि-दलि-कृ
FormMasculine, Nominative, Singular, Past passive participle (क्त)
Speaker
कृप उवाच
Characters & Entities
A
AśvatthāmāK
KṛpaP
PāṇḍavasS
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
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.
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.