Shloka 13
Sauptika-parva Adhyāya 13 — Bhīmasena’s Pursuit of Drauṇi and the Release of a Divine Astra
स तेषां प्रेक्षतामेव श्रीमतां दृढ्धन्विनाम् ययौ भागीरथीतीरं हरिभिर्भुशवेगितैः,इति श्रीमहा भारते सौप्तिकपर्वणि ऐषीकपर्वणि ब्रह्मशिरो<स्त्रत्यागे त्रयोदशो<5 ध्याय: इस प्रकार श्रीमहाभारत सौप्तिकपर्वके अन्तर्गत ऐषीकपर्वनें अश्वत्थामाके द्वारा ब्रह्मास्रका प्रयोगविषयक तेरहवाँ अध्याय पूरा हुआ
sa teṣāṁ prekṣatām eva śrīmatāṁ dṛḍha-dhanvinām yayau bhāgīrathī-tīraṁ haribhir bhuśa-vegibhiḥ | iti śrī-mahābhārate sauptika-parvaṇi aiṣīka-parvaṇi brahma-śiro’stra-tyāge trayodaśo’dhyāyaḥ |
Dijo Vaiśampāyana: Mientras aquellos ilustres arqueros de arco firme contemplaban, él partió hacia la ribera del Bhāgīrathī, llevado con gran rapidez por sus caballos leonados. Así concluye el capítulo decimotercero del Sauptika Parva del Śrī Mahābhārata, en la sección Aiṣīka, acerca del abandono del arma Brahmaśiras.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even in war, power must be governed by restraint: the narrative framing of the Brahmaśiras weapon’s relinquishment underscores that the use (or continued deployment) of catastrophic divine weapons violates dharma when it risks indiscriminate harm, and that stepping back from such force is an ethical necessity.
As the assembled, renowned archers watch, the central figure departs swiftly in a chariot drawn by tawny horses toward the bank of the Bhāgīrathī (Gaṅgā). The verse also functions as a chapter-colophon, closing the adhyāya themed around the abandonment/withdrawal of the Brahmaśiras weapon.