Shloka 25
Chapter 30: Formation Disruption, Competing War-Cries, and Nīla’s Fall
Droṇa-parva
हते तस्मिज्जलौघास्तु प्रादुरासन् भयानका: । अम्भसस्तस्य नाशार्थमादित्यास्त्रमथार्जुन:
hate tasmiñ jalaughās tu prādurāsan bhayānakāḥ | ambhasas tasya nāśārtham ādityāstram athārjunaḥ ||
Sañjaya said: When he had been slain, terrifying torrents of water suddenly arose. Then Arjuna, in order to destroy that mass of water, employed the Āditya weapon. The episode underscores how, in the chaos of war, countermeasures must be guided by discernment—using power not for excess, but to neutralize imminent harm.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even amid violent conflict, power should be applied proportionately and purposefully: Arjuna uses a specific counter-weapon to remove an immediate threat (the terrifying flood), illustrating disciplined action rather than uncontrolled destruction.
After a combatant is slain, dreadful torrents of water manifest on the battlefield. To neutralize this watery onslaught, Arjuna deploys the Āditya-astra, a solar divine weapon, to destroy or dry up the threatening mass of water.