Shloka 65
द्रोणपुत्रस्याग्नेयास्त्रप्रयोगः — अर्जुनस्य ब्राह्मास्त्रप्रतिघातः — व्यासोपदेशः
Aśvatthāmā’s Agneyāstra, Arjuna’s Brāhmāstra Counter, and Vyāsa’s Instruction
देवानामिव देवेन्द्रे जयाशा त्वयि मे स्थिता । जहि मातुल कौन्तेयानसुरानिव पावकि:,“मामा! जैसे देवताओंकी आशा देवराज इन्द्रपर लगी रहती है, उसी प्रकार मेरी विजयकी आशा तुमपर अवलम्बित है। जैसे अग्निकुमार स्कन्दने असुरोंका संहार किया था, उसी प्रकार तुम भी कुन्तीकुमारोंका वध करो”
sañjaya uvāca | devānām iva devendre jayāśā tvayi me sthitā | jahi mātula kaunteyān asurān iva pāvakiḥ |
Sanjaya said: “As the gods’ hope rests upon Indra, the lord of the gods, so too my hope of victory rests upon you. Therefore, O maternal uncle, slay the sons of Kunti—just as Pāvaki (Skanda, son of Agni) once destroyed the Asuras.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse illustrates how wartime rhetoric uses divine exemplars to intensify resolve: victory is framed as dependent on a champion, and the opponent is cast as ‘asura-like,’ making their destruction appear necessary and even sanctified—raising ethical tension between dharma and the brutal demands of war.
Sanjaya reports a forceful exhortation addressed to a ‘maternal uncle,’ urging him to kill the Kaunteyas (Pandavas). The speaker compares his reliance on this warrior to the gods’ reliance on Indra, and invokes Skanda (Pāvaki) as a model for annihilating enemies, thereby pressing for decisive slaughter in the battle context.