Shloka 38
Book 10, Adhyāya 12: Aśvatthāmā’s Request for the Cakra and the Brahmaśiras Context
“जब मैंने इस तरह पूछा, तब द्रोणकुमारने मुझे इस प्रकार उत्तर दिया--'श्रीकृष्ण! मैं आपकी पूजा करके फिर आपके ही साथ युद्ध करूँगा। प्रभो! मैं यह सच कहता हूँ कि मैंने इस देव-दानवपूजित चक्रको आपसे इसीलिये माँगा था कि इसे पाकर अजेय हो जाऊँ ।। त्वत्तो5हं दुर्लभ॑ काममनवाप्यैव केशव । प्रतियास्यामि गोविन्द शिवेनाभिवदस्व माम्,किंतु केशव! अब मैं अपनी इस दुर्लभ कामनाको आपसे प्राप्त किये बिना ही लौट जाऊँगा। गोविन्द! आप मुझसे केवल इतना कह दें कि “तेरा कल्याण हो”
tvatto 'haṁ durlabhaṁ kāmam anavāpyaiva keśava | pratiyāsyāmi govinda śivenābhivadāsva mām ||
Vaiśampāyana said: “When I questioned him in this way, Droṇa’s son replied: ‘Keśava, without obtaining from you this rare boon I sought, I will return. Govinda, grant me at least this much—address me with the words “May there be auspiciousness for you.”’ The moment underscores a moral tension: even while seeking power for war, he still craves a sanction of well-being from Kṛṣṇa, revealing the pull of devotion and the desire for legitimacy amid unrighteous intent.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even when one’s aim is ethically compromised, the conscience still seeks moral sanction. The verse highlights the tension between craving power for conflict and yearning for auspicious approval from a righteous authority—showing how devotion can be invoked to legitimize questionable intentions, and how true dharma cannot be reduced to mere verbal blessing.
Vaiśampāyana narrates Droṇa’s son speaking to Kṛṣṇa. Having asked for a rare boon (contextually, a powerful weapon/means to become ‘unconquerable’) and failing to obtain it, he declares he will depart. Yet he requests that Kṛṣṇa at least bid him ‘śiva’—a word of welfare—seeking an auspicious send-off despite the war-driven purpose behind his request.