Shloka 5
Chapter 14: Divyāstra-Prayoga and Ṛṣi Intervention (दिव्यास्त्रप्रयोगः ऋषिसमागमश्च)
पूर्वमाचार्यपुत्राय ततो5नन्तरमात्मने । भ्रातृभ्यश्चैव सर्वेभ्य: स्वस्तीत्युक्त्वा परंतप:
vaishampāyana uvāca | pūrvam ācāryaputrāya tato 'nantaram ātmane | bhrātṛbhyaś caiva sarvebhyaḥ svastīty uktvā paraṃtapaḥ ||
Vaiśaṃpāyana sprach: Zuerst rief er Wohlergehen für den Sohn des Lehrers aus; dann für sich selbst; und danach für alle seine Brüder. Nachdem er so „svasti“ (einen Segensspruch) gesprochen hatte, schritt der Peiniger der Feinde weiter — mit dem Sinn auf das Wohl aller gerichtet, selbst mitten in der Gewalt des Krieges —, um seine göttliche Waffe einzusetzen und das Brahmāstra des Gegners zu besänftigen.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even in a life-and-death conflict, one should act with auspicious intention and self-restraint: invoking welfare (svasti) for others—including the opponent—signals a dharmic mind that seeks to neutralize harm rather than intensify hatred.
The narrator describes the hero (contextually Arjuna) uttering benedictions—first for the teacher’s son, then for himself, and then for all his brothers—before proceeding to deploy a divine weapon with the aim of pacifying the enemy’s Brahmāstra.