Shloka 17
Brahmaśirastra-pratisaṃhāra — Retraction and redirection of the supreme weapon
Sauptika Parva, Adhyāya 15
तदिदं पाण्डवेयानामन्तकायाभिसंहितम् । अद्य पाण्डुसुतान् सर्वान् जीविताद् भ्रंशयिष्यति
tad idaṃ pāṇḍaveyānām antakāyābhisaṃhitam | adya pāṇḍusutān sarvān jīvitād bhraṃśayiṣyati ||
वैशम्पायन बोले— यह कर्म पाण्डवों के लिये मानो स्वयं अन्तक (मृत्यु) को लक्ष्य करके किया गया है; आज यह समस्त पाण्डुपुत्रों को जीवन से गिरा देगा।
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the moral gravity of violence driven by vengeance: when an act is ‘aimed at Death’ for an entire lineage, it signals a collapse of restraint and dharma, showing how war’s hatred seeks total annihilation rather than justice.
In the Sauptika Parva’s account of the nocturnal slaughter, the narrator foretells that a deadly action now set in motion is intended to bring death upon the Pāṇḍava side—portrayed as a threat to wipe out the sons of Pāṇḍu and extinguish their lives.