Shloka 30

Śānti-parva Adhyāya 3: Karṇa’s training under Rāma Jāmadagnya and the Bhārgava restriction on the Brahmāstra

Devanagari script

यस्मान्मिथ्योपचरितो हास्त्रलो भादिह त्वया । तस्मादेतद्ि ते मूढ ब्रह्मास्त्रं प्रतिभास्यति

Transliteration

yasmān mithyopacarito hāstralo bhād iha tvayā | tasmād etad i te mūḍha brahmāstraṃ pratibhāsyati ||

Translation

Nārada said: “Since you have here treated that weapon with false and improper handling, therefore, O deluded one, this Brahmā-weapon will turn back upon you and appear against you.”

Word by Word

यस्मात्because of which/from which

मिथ्याfalsely, wrongly

उपचरितःtreated/used (applied) improperly

अस्त्रलोपःloss/forgetting of the weapon (astra)

आदिहyou have given/caused

त्वयाby you

तस्मात्therefore/from that

एतत्this

हिindeed/for

तेto you/for you

मूढO deluded one

ब्रह्मास्त्रम्the Brahmā-weapon (Brahmāstra)

प्रतिभास्यतिwill appear/manifest (against you)

Speaker

नारद उवाच

Characters & Entities

Nārada

Brahmāstra

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Power—especially sacred or extraordinary power—demands correct discipline and truthful, proper practice. When handled wrongly (mithyā-upacāra), it rebounds upon the user, showing that adharma and negligence carry self-destructive consequences.

What is happening in the narrative?

Nārada warns the addressed person that, because the weapon has been improperly handled, the Brahmāstra will not serve as intended; instead it will manifest against the very one who tried to wield it, turning the act into a punishment and a moral lesson.