Shloka 20
Sauptika-parva Adhyāya 13 — Bhīmasena’s Pursuit of Drauṇi and the Release of a Divine Astra
स तामापदमासाद्य दिव्यमस्त्रमुदैरयत् । अमृष्यमाणस्तान् शूरान् दिव्यायुधवरान् स्थितान्
sa tām āpadam āsādya divyam astram udairayat | amṛṣyamāṇas tān śūrān divyāyudhavarān sthitān ||
In jene Bedrängnis geraten, entfesselte er eine himmlische Waffe. Da er die Gegenwart jener heldenhaften Krieger—standhaft aufgerichtet, mit erlesenen göttlichen Waffen gerüstet—nicht ertragen konnte, handelte er im Zorn und wählte übernatürliche Macht, als gewöhnliche Mittel unzureichend schienen.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how, when overwhelmed by danger and resentment, a warrior may escalate to extraordinary and destructive means. Ethically, it warns that anger and intolerance can drive choices that intensify harm—especially when one resorts to divine or disproportionate force.
In the Sauptika Parva context, the speaker describes a combatant who, upon encountering a dire predicament and facing formidable heroes equipped with superior weapons, responds by invoking and releasing a divine missile-weapon.