Shloka 48
ततो द्रोणो ब्राह्ममस्त्र प्रादुश्चक्रे महामति: । संतापयन् रणे पार्थ भूतान्यन्तर्हितानि च,तत्पश्चात् परम बुद्धिमान् द्रोणाचार्यने रणभूमिमें अर्जुनको तथा आकाशवर्ती अदृश्य प्राणियोंको संताप देते हुए ब्रह्मास्त्र प्रकट किया
tato droṇo brāhmam astraṁ prāduścakre mahāmatiḥ | santāpayan raṇe pārtha bhūtāny antarhitāni ca ||
Sañjaya said: Then the great-minded Droṇa brought forth the Brahmā-weapon. On the battlefield he scorched Pārtha (Arjuna) and even the unseen beings that move in the sky—revealing a fearsome escalation in the use of divine arms, where the power of a single act of war spreads beyond visible combatants and raises grave ethical stakes.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the moral danger of escalating to supreme astras: when power exceeds discernment, harm spreads beyond intended targets (even to unseen beings). It implicitly presses the dharmic question of proportionality and restraint in warfare.
Sañjaya reports that Droṇa, in the heat of battle, manifests the Brahmā-weapon and uses it to afflict Arjuna and even invisible aerial beings—signaling a dramatic intensification of the conflict through celestial weaponry.