Shloka 15
प्रादुश्चक्रे ततो द्रौणिरस्त्रं नारायणं तदा । अभिसंधाय पाण्डूनां पञ्चालानां च वाहिनीम्,तत्पश्चात् द्रोणपुत्र अश्वत्थामाने पाण्डवों और पांचालोंकी सेनाको लक्ष्य करके नारायणास्त्र प्रकट किया। उससे आकाशमें हजारों बाण प्रकट हुए। उन सबके अग्रभाग प्रज्वलित हो रहे थे। वे सभी बाण प्रज्वलित मुखवाले सर्पोंके समान आकर पाण्डव- सैनिकोंका विनाश करनेको उद्यत थे
prāduścakre tato drauṇir astraṃ nārāyaṇaṃ tadā | abhisandhāya pāṇḍūnāṃ pañcālānāṃ ca vāhinīm ||
Sañjaya said: Then Drauṇi (Aśvatthāman), at that moment, brought forth the Nārāyaṇa weapon. Aiming it at the armies of the Pāṇḍavas and the Pāñcālas, he unleashed it—an escalation that turns the battlefield into a test of restraint as much as of strength, for such divine missiles threaten indiscriminate ruin and demand ethical response rather than mere counter-violence.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how the use of divine or overwhelming force in war raises an ethical demand for restraint and right response: when violence becomes indiscriminate, dharma is tested not only by valor but by self-control and adherence to proper conduct.
Sañjaya reports that Aśvatthāman, son of Droṇa, manifests the Nārāyaṇāstra and directs it against the combined forces of the Pāṇḍavas and the Pāñcālas, signaling a dangerous intensification of the battle.