Shloka 18

Sauptika Parva, Adhyaya 8 — Dhṛṣṭadyumna-vadha and the Camp’s Nocturnal Rout

Devanagari script

तमाक्रम्य पदा राजन्‌ कण्ठे चोरसि चोभयो:

Transliteration

tam ākramya padā rājan kaṇṭhe corasi cobhayoḥ

Translation

三阇耶说道：大王啊，他以足踏之，又在其咽喉与胸膛两侧同时压制——这是夜色暴行中的残酷支配，显出战争之怒如何能驱人越过克制与怜悯的界限。

Word by Word

• तम्: him
• तम्: Karma
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• आक्रम्य: having stepped on / having trampled
• Type: Verb
• Root: आ-क्रम्
• Form: ल्यप् (absolutive/gerund), Parasmaipada (usage-neutral for gerund)

• पदा: with (his) foot
• पदा: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: पद
• Form: Neuter, Instrumental, Singular

• राजन्: O king
• Type: Noun
• Root: राजन्
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• कण्ठे: on/at the neck
• कण्ठे: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: कण्ठ
• Form: Masculine, Locative, Singular

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• उरसि: on/at the chest
• उरसि: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: उरस्
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Singular

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• उभयोः: of both (places/parts)
• Type: Pronoun/Adjective
• Root: उभ
• Form: Masculine/Neuter (contextual), Genitive, Dual

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• King Dhṛtarāṣṭra (addressed as rājan)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights how unchecked rage and the momentum of war can manifest as degrading, excessive violence—an implicit warning that victory pursued through cruelty corrodes dharma and human dignity.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that the attacker overpowered a victim physically by stepping on him and pinning his throat and chest, describing a close-quarters killing method typical of the brutal night actions in the Sauptika episode.