Shloka 22
अभश्रत्थामाके द्वारा पाण्डव-सेनापर नारायणास्त्रका प्रयोग जनेश्वर! पाण्डव-महारथी जैसे-जैसे युद्ध करते थे, वैसे-ही-वैसे उस अस्त्रका वेग बढ़ता जाता था ।। वध्यमानास्तदास्त्रेण तेन नारायणेन वै | दहाुमानानलेनेव सर्वतो<भ्यर्दिता रणे,उस नारायणास्त्रसे घायल हुए सैनिक रणभूमिमें ऐसे पीड़ित हुए मानो सब ओरसे आगमें झुलस रहे हों
sañjaya uvāca | aśvatthāmnā kṛte dvāraḥ pāṇḍava-senāparā narāyaṇāstrasya prayogaḥ, janeśvara | pāṇḍava-mahārathā yathā-yathā yuddham akurvata tathā-tathā tasya astrasya vegaḥ vardhamāna eva | vadhyamānās tadāstreṇa tena nārāyaṇena vai | dāhyamānānaleneva sarvato 'bhyarditā raṇe ||
Sañjaya said: O lord of men, when Aśvatthāmā unleashed the Nārāyaṇa-weapon against the Pāṇḍava host, its onrush kept intensifying in exact proportion to how fiercely the Pāṇḍava great chariot-warriors continued to fight. Struck down by that Nārāyaṇa-weapon, the soldiers on the battlefield were tormented on every side, as though they were being scorched by fire. The passage underscores a grim ethical tension of war: valor and resistance, normally praised, can become self-defeating when set against a divinely empowered missile that demands restraint rather than escalation.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights that in dharmic reflection on war, courage alone is not always the right response: against certain divinely empowered forces, continued aggression can amplify harm. It points to the ethical need for discernment and restraint, not merely valor, when the means of violence become overwhelming.
Aśvatthāmā releases the Nārāyaṇa-weapon at the Pāṇḍava forces. As the Pāṇḍava elite fighters keep engaging in combat, the weapon’s force increases correspondingly, and the soldiers suffer intensely on the battlefield, as if surrounded by burning fire.