Shloka 466
Droṇa-parva Adhyāya 94: Sātyaki–Sudarśana Yuddha (सात्यकि–सुदर्शन युद्ध)
दिव्यमस्त्रं सुतस्तेडयं येनावध्यो भविष्यति । तब वरुणने प्रसन्न होकर कहा--“मैं इसके लिये हितकारक वरके रूपमें यह दिव्य अस्त्र प्रदान करता हूँ, जिसके द्वारा तुम्हारा यह पुत्र अवध्य होगा
divyam astraṃ sutas te ’yaṃ yenāvadhyo bhaviṣyati | tataḥ varuṇena prasannaḥ san uktam— “ahaṃ tasmai hitakārakaṃ vararūpeṇa idaṃ divyam astraṃ pradadāmi, yena tava eṣa putro ’vadhyo bhaviṣyati” |
Sañjaya said: “A divine weapon is (here), by which this son of yours will become invulnerable. Then Varuṇa, being pleased, declared: ‘For his welfare, as a boon, I grant this divine weapon, by which your son will be beyond being slain.’” The passage underscores how divine favor, when granted as a boon, can alter the moral and tactical balance of war—raising questions about the rightful use of extraordinary power and the consequences of making a warrior ‘unassailable.’
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical tension created by divine empowerment: when a boon makes someone ‘avadhya’ (unslayable), it can distort the ordinary moral calculus of battle and intensify responsibility regarding how such power is sought and used.
Sañjaya narrates that Varuṇa, pleased, grants a divine weapon as a boon, with the stated effect that the recipient’s son will become invulnerable—setting up a significant shift in the conflict’s dynamics.