Shloka 64
द्रोणपुत्रस्याग्नेयास्त्रप्रयोगः — अर्जुनस्य ब्राह्मास्त्रप्रतिघातः — व्यासोपदेशः
Aśvatthāmā’s Agneyāstra, Arjuna’s Brāhmāstra Counter, and Vyāsa’s Instruction
जहि कृष्णौ महाबाहो धर्मराजं च मातुल । नकुलं सहदेवं च भीमसेनं तथैव च,“मेरे महाबाहु मामा! तुम श्रीकृष्ण, अर्जुन, धर्मराज युधिष्ठिर, नकुल, सहदेव तथा भीमसेनको भी मार डालो
sañjaya uvāca | jahi kṛṣṇau mahābāho dharmarājaṃ ca mātula | nakulaṃ sahadevaṃ ca bhīmasenaṃ tathaiva ca ||
Sañjaya said: “O mighty-armed uncle, slay both Kṛṣṇa and (Arjuna) Kṛṣṇa, and also Dharmarāja (Yudhiṣṭhira); slay Nakula and Sahadeva, and Bhīmasena as well.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how, in the heat of war, ethical boundaries can collapse: even revered figures and close kin are named as targets. It implicitly contrasts the ideal of dharma (restraint, righteousness) with the war-driven impulse toward total destruction.
Sañjaya reports a command or exhortation addressed to a ‘maternal uncle’—a senior warrior—urging him to kill the leading Pāṇḍava figures: Kṛṣṇa, Arjuna, Yudhiṣṭhira, Nakula, Sahadeva, and Bhīma, indicating an intensified attempt to eliminate the Pāṇḍava leadership.