Shloka 21
ब्रह्मास्त्रेणैेव तं पार्थो ववर्ष शरवृष्टिभि: । तदस्त्रमस्त्रेणावार्य प्रजहार च पाण्डव:
brahmāstreṇaiva taṃ pārtho vavarṣa śaravṛṣṭibhiḥ | tad astram astreṇāvārya prajahāra ca pāṇḍavaḥ ||
サञ्जयは言った。するとパールタ（アルジュナ）もまたブラフマー・アストラを用い、彼に矢の雨を注いだ。その武器を自らの武器で打ち消し、パーンダヴァは激しく打ち据えて重傷を負わせた—至高の武器が召喚されようとも、戦では力に力をもって応ずるほかないという、陰惨な理を示したのである。
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights a battlefield ethic of proportional response within kṣatriya warfare: a dangerous weapon (astra) is checked by an appropriate counter-weapon, emphasizing skill, restraint through method (neutralizing first), and the harsh necessity of force when dharma is pursued through war.
Arjuna uses the Brahmāstra to overwhelm his opponent with a dense shower of arrows. He then neutralizes the opponent’s weapon with his own and follows up with a decisive strike, leaving the enemy badly wounded.