Shloka 9
अश्वत्थाम-शापः, परिक्षिद्भविष्यत्, मणि-न्यासः
Aśvatthāman’s Curse, Parikṣit’s Future, and the Mani’s Restitution
श्रीभगवान् बोले--द्रोणकुमार! उस दिव्य अस्त्रका प्रहार तो अमोघ ही होगा। उत्तराका वह गर्भ मरा हुआ ही पैदा होगा; फिर उसे लंबी आयु प्राप्त हो जायगी ।।
śrībhagavān uvāca—droṇakumāra! asya divyāstrasya prahāraḥ amogha eva bhaviṣyati. uttarāyā garbhaḥ mṛta eva jāyiṣyate; punaḥ tasya dīrghāyur bhaviṣyati. tvāṃ tu kāpuruṣaṃ pāpaṃ viduḥ sarve manīṣiṇaḥ, asakṛt pāpakarmāṇaṃ bālajīvitaghātakam.
The Blessed Lord said: “O son of Droṇa, the impact of this divine weapon will indeed be unfailing. Uttara’s child will be born lifeless; yet afterward he will be granted a long life. But as for you—every wise person knows you as a vile coward, a sinner, one who repeatedly commits evil deeds, and a slayer of a child’s life.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even in war, dharma sets limits: targeting the unborn or the helpless is condemned as cowardly and sinful. The verse frames moral accountability—wise people judge repeated cruelty, especially violence against innocents, as a grave ethical collapse.
Kṛṣṇa addresses Aśvatthāmā about the divine missile he has released. He states that its strike will not fail and that Uttara’s fetus will be born lifeless, yet will later be restored and granted long life; simultaneously, Kṛṣṇa denounces Aśvatthāmā as a cowardly sinner for attacking a child’s life.