Shloka 323
Adhyāya 6: Śibira-dvāra-sthita Bhūta-varṇana and Aśvatthāmā’s Śaraṇāgati to Mahādeva
दैवदण्डमिमं घोरं स हि मे नाशयिष्यति । 'दैवकी अनुकूलताके सिवा दूसरा कोई उपाय नहीं है, जिससे किसी प्रकार फिर यहाँ युद्धविषयक उद्योग किया जा सके; इसलिये आज मैं सर्वव्यापी भगवान् महादेवजीकी शरण लेता हूँ। वे ही मेरे सामने आये हुए इस भयानक दैवदण्डका नाश करेंगे
daivadaṇḍam imaṃ ghoraṃ sa hi me nāśayiṣyati |
Sañjaya sprach: „Dieser schreckliche Stab des Schicksals—diese göttliche Strafe—wird mich gewiss vernichten.“
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the Mahābhārata’s ethical vision that violent actions and adharma generate consequences that feel like an inescapable ‘divine punishment’ (daivadaṇḍa). Human power and strategy cannot always avert the ripening of fate shaped by prior deeds.
Sañjaya, narrating events to Dhṛtarāṣṭra, voices the overwhelming sense that a terrible, fate-driven retribution has arrived. The line functions as a grim recognition that the aftermath of the war is governed by forces beyond ordinary control.