Shloka 31
Brahmaśirastra-pratisaṃhāra — Retraction and redirection of the supreme weapon
Sauptika Parva, Adhyāya 15
यत्तु मे भगवानाह तन्मे कार्यमनन्तरम् | अयं मणिरयं चाहमीषिका तु पतिष्यति
yat tu me bhagavān āha tan me kāryam anantaram | ayaṃ maṇir ayaṃ cāham īṣikā tu patiṣyati |
Vyāsa dijo: «Pero cuanto el Señor Bienaventurado me ha ordenado, eso debo cumplirlo de inmediato. He aquí la joya, y he aquí a mí (rindiéndome). Sin embargo, esta brizna de hierba, consagrada por un arma divina, caerá ciertamente sobre los no nacidos en los vientres del linaje de los Pāṇḍavas, pues este proyectil supremo no yerra jamás. ¡Oh Señor! No me es posible retirar el arma una vez que ha sido soltada.»
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights dharma as immediate obedience to rightful command and the moral weight of actions once set in motion: a weapon released—especially one empowered as ‘unfailing’—cannot be casually recalled, so restraint and responsibility must precede its use.
The speaker submits to the Lord’s instruction by offering the jewel and himself, yet warns that the consecrated īṣikā carrying a divine missile will still strike the Pāṇḍavas’ unborn offspring, because the weapon is described as amogha (infallible) and cannot be withdrawn after release.