Shloka 20
भौमेन प्राविशद् भूमिं पार्वतेनासृजद् गिरीन् । अन्तधनिन चास्त्रेण पुनरन्तर्हितो&भवत्,उन्होंने भौमास्त्रसे पृथ्वी और पार्वतास्त्रसे पर्वतोंको उत्पन्न कर दिया; फिर अन्तर्धानास्त्रके द्वारा वे स्वयं अदृश्य हो गये
vaiśampāyana uvāca | bhaumena prāviśad bhūmiṃ pārvatena asṛjad girīn | antardhānena cāstreṇa punar antarhito 'bhavat |
Vaiśampāyana said: By the Bhāuma weapon he made the earth open and swallow (what was before it); by the Pārvatā weapon he caused mountains to arise. Then, employing the Antardhāna weapon, he once again became hidden from sight—showing how mastery of power can both reshape the world and evade accountability, a reminder that force without restraint destabilizes the moral order.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the double-edged nature of extraordinary power: it can alter the physical world (earth and mountains) and also enable concealment. Ethically, it warns that unchecked force and the ability to vanish from consequences threaten dharma and social order.
In the course of a conflict described by Vaiśampāyana, a combatant deploys successive astras: the Bhāuma weapon affecting the earth, the Pārvatā weapon producing mountains, and finally the Antardhāna weapon to become invisible and withdraw from sight.