Shloka 16
Brahmaśirastra-pratisaṃhāra — Retraction and redirection of the supreme weapon
Sauptika Parva, Adhyāya 15
विसृष्ट हि मया दिव्यमेतदस्त्रं दुरासदम् । अपाण्डवायेति मुने वलह्वितेजो<नुमन्त्रय वै
visṛṣṭaṃ hi mayā divyam etad astraṃ durāsadam | apāṇḍavāyeti mune valahvitejo 'numantraya vai ||
Vaiśampāyana berkata: “Wahai resi, sungguh aku telah melepaskan senjata ilahi yang tak tertandingi ini setelah kuperkuat dan kukuduskan dengan daya laksana api yang menyala-nyala, dengan maksud agar para Pāṇḍava lenyap tanpa meninggalkan jejak.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical collapse that occurs when sacred power (a divinely invoked astra) is used with the intention of total annihilation. It frames such intent as driven by vengeance rather than dharma, warning that mantra-charged force does not become righteous merely because it is ‘divine’.
The speaker reports that a divine weapon was deliberately released after being empowered and consecrated with fiery energy, specifically aiming to erase the Pāṇḍavas’ very existence—setting the stage for the moral and narrative consequences of deploying an irresistible astra in anger.