Гхатоткача
संजय उवाच
श्रुत्वैतत् क्रोधताम्राक्षः पुत्रशोकसमन्वितः ॥
अश्वत्थामानम् आयस्तो भैमसेनिर् अभाषत ॥
किम् अहं कातरो द्रौणे पृथग्जन इवाहवे ॥
भीमात् खल्व् अहम् उत्पन्नः कुरूणां विपुले कुले ॥
पाण्डवानाम् अहं पुत्रः समरेष्व् अनिवर्तिनाम् ॥
रक्षसाम् अधिराजो ऽहं दशग्रीवसमो बले ॥
तिष्ठ तिष्ठ न मे जीवन् द्रोणपुत्र गमिष्यसि ॥
युद्धश्रद्धाम् अहं ते ऽद्य विनेष्यामि रणाजिरे ॥
इत्य् उक्त्वा रोषताम्राक्षो राक्षसः सुमहाबलः ॥
द्रौणिम् अभ्यद्रवत् क्रुद्धो गजेन्द्रम् इव केसरी ॥
saṃjaya uvāca
śrutvaitat krodhatāmrākṣaḥ putraśokasamanvitaḥ ||
aśvatthāmānam āyasto bhaimasenir abhāṣata ||
kim ahaṃ kātaro drauṇe pṛthagjana ivāhave ||
bhīmāt khalv aham utpannaḥ kurūṇāṃ vipule kule ||
pāṇḍavānām ahaṃ putraḥ samareṣv anivartinām ||
rakṣasām adhirājo 'haṃ daśagrīvasamo bale ||
tiṣṭha tiṣṭha na me jīvan droṇaputra gamiṣyasi ||
yuddhaśraddhām ahaṃ te 'dya vineṣyāmi raṇājire ||
ity uktvā roṣatāmrākṣo rākṣasaḥ sumahābalaḥ ||
drauṇim abhyadravat kruddho gajendram iva kesarī ||
Hearing this, his eyes crimson with fury, seized by grief for his son, the son of Bhimasena, straining, spoke to Ashvatthaman: 'Am I a coward, Drauni, like some commoner in battle? I was indeed born of Bhima, in the vast line of the Kurus; I am the son of the Pandavas, who never retreat in battle; I am the supreme king of the rakshasas, equal in strength to the ten-headed Ravana. Stand, stand, you shall not escape me alive, son of Drona; now I shall drive your eagerness for battle from the field of war.' Having spoken thus, his eyes crimson with fury, the mighty rakshasa rushed upon Drauni, enraged, like a lion upon a lead elephant.
b5c1bd98a3a3 · published Jul 19, 2026, 4:40:45 PM UTC
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Ghatotkacha rejects Ashvatthaman's wise words — grief for a son outweighs the arguments of reason. It is significant that he takes pride in his lineage — 'son of Bhima, king of the rakshasas': grief seeks support in the honor of one's line. The verse teaches that a father's grief is deaf to counsel; and one who has lost a son rejects even the enemy's reasonable freedom from anger, for pain commands vengeance, heeding neither warning nor reason.