Shloka 23
Book 3, Āraṇyaka-parva — Adhyāya 19: Pradyumna’s Reproach of Withdrawal and the Ethics of Kṣātra Reputation
संहरस्व पुनर्बाणमवध्यो<यं त्वया रणे । एतस्य च शरस्याजौ नावध्यो<स्ति पुमान् क्वचित्,“तुम अपने इस बाणको फिरसे लौटा लो; क्योंकि यह शाल्व तुम्हारे द्वारा अवध्य है। तुम्हारे इस बाणका प्रयोग होनेपर युद्धमें कोई भी पुरुष बिना मरे नहीं रह सकता
saṁharasva punarbāṇam avadhyo 'yaṁ tvayā raṇe | etasya ca śarasyājau nāvadhyo 'sti pumān kvacit ||
Vāyu said: “Withdraw your arrow and take it back again. This Śālva cannot be slain by you in battle. And once this missile is released in combat, no man anywhere can remain alive before it.”
वायुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even in war, power must be governed by discernment and restraint: when a weapon is indiscriminate or fate-bound to kill without exception, dharma requires recalling it rather than unleashing unavoidable destruction—especially when the intended target is declared unslayable by the agent.
Vāyudeva intervenes to warn the warrior to retract an arrow. He states that Śālva is not destined/eligible to be slain by that person, and that the particular missile—if released—would prove universally fatal on the battlefield, leaving no man alive.