Shloka 19
Book 10, Adhyāya 12: Aśvatthāmā’s Request for the Cakra and the Brahmaśiras Context
इस प्रकार श्रीमहाभारत सौप्तिकपर्वके अन्तर्गत ऐषीकपरवनें अश्वत्थामाके वधके लिये भीमसेनका प्रस्थानविषयक ग्यारहवाँ अध्याय पूरा हुआ
yach chhaknoṣi samudyantuṁ prayoktum api vā raṇe | tad gṛhāṇa vināstreṇa yan me dātum abhīpsasi ||
ৰণভূমিত তুমি যি আয়ুধ তুলিব পাৰা বা প্ৰয়োগ কৰিব পাৰা, সেইটোৱেই লোৱা; তুমি মোৰ পৰা যি পাব খোজা, মই বিধিবদ্ধ অস্ত্ৰদান নকৰিলেও—নিজ বলে—সেইটো গ্ৰহণ কৰা।
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Martial entitlement is tied to proven capability and courage: in the ethics of kṣatriya conduct, one should claim only what one can actually bear and wield, especially in war where boasting or bargaining for weapons is morally suspect.
A speaker issues a direct battlefield challenge: instead of formally handing over a desired weapon (astra), he tells the opponent to take whichever weapon he can physically lift or use in combat—turning the request into a test of strength and readiness.