Shloka 34

Devanagari script

न त्विदं सहसा ब्रद्नान्‌ प्रयोक्तव्यं कथंचन । न होतदस्त्रमन्यत्र वधाच्छत्रोर्निवर्तते,“राजन्‌! तब देवश्रेष्ठ भगवान्‌ नारायणने वह अस्त्र देकर उनसे इस प्रकार कहा --ब्रह्मन! अब युद्धमें तुम्हारी समानता करनेवाला दूसरा कोई मनुष्य कहीं नहीं रह जायगा, परंतु तुम्हें सहसा इसका प्रयोग किसी तरह नहीं करना चाहिये; क्योंकि यह अस्त्र शत्रुका वध किये बिना पीछे नहीं लौटता है

Transliteration

na tvidaṁ sahasā bradnān prayoktavyaṁ kathaṁcana | na hotad astram anyatra vadhāc chatror nivartate, rājan |

Translation

Sañjaya said: “O King, this must never be employed rashly in any way. For this weapon does not turn back by any other means than the slaying of the enemy.”

Word by Word

नnot

तुbut

इदम्this (weapon/thing)

सहसाsuddenly, rashly

ब्रह्मन्O Brahmin

प्रयोक्तव्यम्should be used / is to be employed

कथंचनin any way (at all)

नnot

हिindeed, for

एतत्this

अस्त्रम्weapon

अन्यत्रotherwise, elsewhere (i.e., in any other way)

वधात्from killing; without killing

शत्रोःof the enemy

निवर्ततेreturns, turns back

राजन्O king

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Dhṛtarāṣṭra (Rājan)

Nārāyaṇa (implied by the accompanying prose context)

Astra (divine weapon/missile)

Enemy (śatru)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse teaches restraint in the use of overwhelming force: a weapon whose action cannot be recalled except through killing must not be deployed impulsively, because its moral and practical consequences are irreversible.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports to King Dhṛtarāṣṭra a warning given in context of a bestowed divine missile: it should not be used hastily, since once released it will not return until it has slain the enemy.