Shloka 35
न चैतच्छक्यते ज्ञातुं कं न वध्येदिति प्रभो । अवध्यमपि हन्याद्धि तस्मान्नैतत् प्रयोजयेत्,'प्रभो! यह नहीं जाना जा सकता कि यह अस्त्र किसको नहीं मारेगा। यह अवध्यका भी वध कर सकता है; अत: सहसा इसका प्रयोग नहीं करना चाहिये
na caitac chak्यate jñātuṁ kaṁ na vadhyed iti prabho | avadhyam api hanyād dhi tasmān naitat prayojayet ||
Sañjaya said: “O lord, it cannot truly be known whom this weapon will not strike down. Indeed, it may kill even one who ought not to be slain; therefore it should not be employed rashly.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even in war, dharma demands restraint: a weapon whose effects cannot be precisely controlled should not be used, because it may destroy those who are ‘avadhya’—persons who ought not be slain by moral or conventional rules.
Sañjaya cautions his listener that the proposed weapon (astra) is unpredictable in whom it will kill; since it could strike even protected or non-target persons, he advises against deploying it impulsively.