Shloka 50
प्रादुश्षकार तद् दिव्यमस्त्रं नारायणं तदा,भारत! द्रोणपुत्र अश्वत्थामाने पूर्वोक्त बात कहकर जलसे आचमन करके उस समय उस दिव्य नारायणास्त्रको प्रकट किया
sañjaya uvāca |
prāduścakāra tad divyam astraṃ nārāyaṇaṃ tadā, bhārata! droṇaputra aśvatthāmāne pūrvoktaṃ vākyaṃ uktvā jalena ācamanaṃ kṛtvā tasmin samaye tad divyaṃ nārāyaṇāstraṃ prakaṭīkṛtam |
Sañjaya said: “O Bhārata, at that moment Droṇa’s son Aśvatthāmā—having spoken the words he had just declared and then ritually sipping water for purification—manifested the divine weapon, the Nārāyaṇa-astra.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even in warfare, the Mahābhārata frames extraordinary power as something to be approached with discipline—through controlled speech and ritual acts—while also warning that divine weapons intensify ethical stakes and can overwhelm ordinary rules of combat.
Sañjaya reports that Aśvatthāmā, son of Droṇa, after speaking his prior declaration and performing ācamana (ritual purification by sipping water), brings forth the divine Nārāyaṇa-astra, signaling a dangerous escalation on the battlefield.