Shloka 19
Sauptika-parva Adhyāya 13 — Bhīmasena’s Pursuit of Drauṇi and the Release of a Divine Astra
स तद् दिव्यमदीनात्मा परमास्त्रमचिन्तयत् | जग्राह च स चैषीकां द्रौणि: सव्येन पाणिना,उदारहृदय अभश्रव॒त्थामाने उस दिव्य एवं उत्तम अस्त्रका चिन्तन किया। साथ ही बायें हाथसे एक सींक उठा ली
sa tad divyam adīnātmā paramāstram acintayat | jagrāha ca sa caiṣīkāṃ drauṇiḥ savyena pāṇinā ||
Vaiśaṃpāyana said: Then Aśvatthāman—unyielding in spirit—fixed his mind upon a supreme, divine weapon. And at the same time, Droṇa’s son picked up a blade of grass with his left hand, preparing to employ that extraordinary power in the grim aftermath of war.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how, in the aftermath of catastrophic violence, an unrestrained mind can turn toward ever more extreme means. It implicitly warns that fixation on ‘supreme’ power—especially when driven by rage or desperation—can deepen adharma and magnify harm beyond proportion.
Aśvatthāman (Droṇa’s son) concentrates on invoking a divine, supreme weapon and simultaneously takes up a blade of grass in his left hand—an object that can serve as a symbolic or practical medium in the act of weapon-deployment—signaling his readiness to unleash extraordinary force.