Mahabharata — Virata Parva, Shloka 5
Adhyāya 61: Saṃmohana-astra and the Kuru Withdrawal (संमोहनास्त्रं तथा कुरुनिवृत्तिः)
अस्त्राणामिव दिव्यानां प्रभाव: सम्प्रयुज्यताम् । त्वया च कुरुभिश्नैव द्रवन्तीव दिशो दश
astrāṇām iva divyānāṁ prabhāvaḥ samprayujyatām | tvayā ca kurubhiś caiva dravantīva diśo daśa ||
Dijo Vaiśampāyana: «Tal es la fuerza abrumadora de los proyectiles divinos que se descargan—por ti y también por los héroes Kuru—que a mí me parece que las diez direcciones mismas huyen».
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the catastrophic, world-shaking potency of divinely empowered weapons: when force exceeds ordinary human limits, it inspires cosmic-scale fear and demands restraint and responsibility from warriors.
The narrator describes the battle scene: divine missiles are being launched by the addressed hero and by the Kuru fighters, and their impact is so terrifying that it feels as though even the ten directions are fleeing.