Shloka 26

निवातकवचवधः — Arjuna’s Neutralization of the Nivātakavacas

Vajra-astra deployment

Devanagari script

ततो>5हमन्रुव॑ नाहं दिव्यान्यस्त्राणि शत्रुहन्‌ । मानुषेषु प्रयोक्ष्यामि विनास्त्रप्रतिघातनात्‌,यह सुनकर मैंने उत्तर दिया--'शत्रुघाती देवेश्वर! मैं शत्रुओंद्वारा प्रयुक्त दिव्यास्त्रोंका निवारण करनेके सिवा अन्य किसी अवसरपर मनुष्योंके ऊपर दिव्यास्त्रोंका प्रयोग नहीं करूँगा

Transliteration

tato 'ham abruvaṁ nāhaṁ divyāny astrāṇi śatruhan | mānuṣeṣu prayokṣyāmi vināstrapratighātanāt ||

Translation

Then I replied: “O slayer of foes, I will not employ divine weapons against human opponents—except for the single purpose of countering and neutralizing divine missiles launched by enemies.” In this vow Arjuna sets an ethical boundary on power: celestial arms are not to be used for domination or excess, but only as a defensive necessity to prevent greater harm.

Word by Word

• {'tataḥ': 'then, thereafter', 'aham': 'I', 'abruvam': 'I said, I replied', 'nāham': 'I do not', 'divyāni': 'divine, celestial', 'astrāṇi': 'missiles

• supernatural weapons (astra)', 'śatruhan': 'slayer of enemies (vocative epithet)', 'mānuṣeṣu': 'among/against humans, in human contexts', 'prayokṣyāmi': 'I shall use, I will employ', 'vinā': 'without

• except (in the sense of ‘apart from’)', 'astrapratighātanāt': 'from the act/purpose of repelling astras

Speaker

अजुन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Arjuna
• divyāni astrāṇi (divine weapons)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Power must be governed by restraint: extraordinary force (divine weapons) should not be used for ordinary conflict or aggression, but only defensively to neutralize equivalent threats and prevent escalation.

What is happening in the narrative?

Arjuna responds by declaring a vow: he will not deploy celestial weapons against human foes, except when necessary to counter divine missiles used by enemies.