Shloka 18
अश्वत्थाम-शापः, परिक्षिद्भविष्यत्, मणि-न्यासः
Aśvatthāman’s Curse, Parikṣit’s Future, and the Mani’s Restitution
तस्माद् यद् देवकीपुत्र उत्तवानुत्तमं वच: । असंशयं ते तद् भावि क्षत्रधर्मस्त्वया55श्रित:
tasmād yad devakīputra uttavānuttamaṃ vacaḥ | asaṃśayaṃ te tad bhāvi kṣatradharmas tvayā śritaḥ ||
Therefore, O son of Devakī, the excellent words you have spoken will surely come to pass. Without doubt, you have taken refuge in the duty of a kṣatriya—acting in accordance with the warrior’s code that upholds resolve, protection, and the hard demands of battle.
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse affirms that steadfast adherence to kṣatriya-dharma—speaking and acting with warriorly resolve and responsibility—has consequences that will certainly manifest; righteous commitment makes one’s declared course effectively inevitable.
Vyāsa addresses Kṛṣṇa (called Devakīputra), validating Kṛṣṇa’s prior statement as ‘unsurpassed’ and declaring that it will surely come true, because Kṛṣṇa has embraced the path and obligations of kṣatriya-dharma in the unfolding post-war events of the Sauptika Parva.