Shloka 19

Bhīmasena’s Capture by the Serpent and Nahūṣa’s Self-Disclosure (भीमसेन-भुजङ्गग्रहणं नहुषोपाख्यानप्रस्तावः)

Devanagari script

अर्जुनार्जुन मा युड्क्ष्व दिव्यान्यस्त्राणि भारत नैतानि निरधिष्ठाने प्रयुज्यन्ते कथंचन,नराधिप! उस समय देवताओंके कहनेसे देवर्षि नारद अर्जुनके पास आये और उनसे यह सुननेयोग्य बात कहने लगे--'अर्जुन! अर्जुन! इस समय दिव्यास्त्रोंका प्रयोग न करो। भारत! ये दिव्य अस्त्र किसी लक्ष्यके बिना कदापि नहीं छोड़े जाते

Transliteration

vaiśampāyana uvāca | arjunārjuna mā yudhyasva divyāny astrāṇi bhārata | naitāni niradhiṣṭhāne prayujyante kathaṃcana |

Translation

“Arjuna, Arjuna—do not enter into battle by releasing the divine weapons now. O Bhārata, these celestial missiles are never employed without a fixed and rightful target.” Here restraint is cast as an ethical necessity: sacred power must not be used impulsively or without proper occasion, even by a hero who can wield it.

Word by Word

• {'vaiśampāyana uvāca': 'Vaiśampāyana said', 'arjuna-arjuna': 'O Arjuna! (repeated for urgency/emphasis)', 'mā': 'do not (prohibitive particle)', 'yudhyasva': 'fight

• engage in battle (imperative, middle voice)', 'divyāni': 'divine, celestial', 'astrāṇi': 'weapons

• missiles (especially mantra-empowered weapons)', 'bhārata': 'O descendant of Bharata (address

• also ‘O Bhārata’)', 'na': 'not', 'etāni': 'these', 'niradhiṣṭhāne': 'without a designated aim/target

• without proper locus', 'prayujyante': 'are employed/used/loosed', 'kathaṃcana': 'in any way

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• Arjuna
• Divyāstra (celestial weapons)
• Bhārata (epithet/address)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Even legitimate power—especially sacred or extraordinary power like divyāstras—must be governed by dharma: it should not be used rashly, without a rightful purpose, or without a proper target. Restraint is presented as a moral duty, not weakness.

What is happening in the narrative?

Arjuna is being urgently cautioned not to deploy celestial weapons at that moment. The warning stresses that such weapons are never to be released aimlessly or without a proper objective, implying the danger of uncontrolled destruction and adharma.