Shloka 38
तदिदं प्रतिगृह्नीष्व अन्तर्धानं प्रियं मम । ओजस्तेजोद्युतिकरं प्रस्वापनमरातिनुत्,“यह मेरा परम प्रिय अन्तर्धान नामक अस्त्र है। इसे ग्रहण करो। यह ओज, तेज और कान्ति प्रदान करनेवाला, शत्रुसेनाकों सुला देनेवाला और समस्त वैरियोंका विनाश करनेवाला है
tad idaṃ pratigṛhṇīṣva antardhānaṃ priyaṃ mama | ojastejodyutikaraṃ prasvāpanam arātinut ||
Vaiśampāyana said: “Receive this—my dearly cherished weapon called Antardhāna (Invisibility). It bestows vigor, fiery power, and radiance; it can cast hostile forces into sleep and brings the foes’ strength to ruin.” In the epic’s moral frame, such gifts are not mere instruments of violence but responsibilities: power is entrusted to the worthy so that it may be used with restraint, for protection, and in alignment with dharma rather than pride or cruelty.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Extraordinary power (astra) is portrayed as a trust: it should be received and employed with discipline and dharmic intent—primarily for protection and the curbing of aggression—rather than for vanity or needless harm.
The narrator reports the bestowal of a prized weapon named Antardhāna, described by its effects—granting vigor and radiance and rendering enemy forces helpless (even asleep)—signaling the recipient’s growing martial/spiritual capability.