Shloka 203
Sauptika-parva Adhyāya 13 — Bhīmasena’s Pursuit of Drauṇi and the Release of a Divine Astra
अपाण्डवायेति रुषा व्यसृजद् दारुणं वच: । दिव्य आयुध धारण करके खड़े हुए उन शूरवीरोंका आना वह सहन न कर सका। उस आपत्तिमें पड़कर उसने रोषपूर्वक दिव्यास्त्रका प्रयोग किया और मुखसे कठोर वचन निकाला कि “यह अस्त्र समस्त पाण्डवोंका विनाश कर डाले'
vaiśampāyana uvāca | apāṇḍavāyeti ruṣā vyasṛjad dāruṇaṃ vacaḥ | divyāyudha-dhāriṇāṃ śūrāṇām āgamanam asahyaṃ babhūva | sa āpadi patitaḥ krodhāt divyāstram amuñcat, mukhaṃ ca kaṭhoram avadat—“idaṃ astram samastapāṇḍavān vināśayiṣyati” iti |
ヴァイシャンパーヤナは語った。彼は憤怒に駆られ、残酷な言葉を投げつけた――「パーンダヴァ滅亡のために！」天界の武器を帯びて毅然と立つ英雄たちの姿に耐えられず、窮地に追い詰められた彼は、怒りのままに神聖なるアストラを放ち、この武器がパーンダヴァすべてを滅ぼすと苛烈に宣言した。倫理の上では、これは怒りと絶望への崩落であり、意図が戦いから殲滅へと転じ、制御なきアストラの力の危険を予兆する。
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical danger of anger-driven action: when rage and fear govern judgment, one may resort to disproportionate, annihilative violence—especially perilous when wielding divine weapons whose effects exceed ordinary warfare. It cautions that intent and self-control are central to dharma, even amid conflict.
In the Sauptika episode’s aftermath, the narrator describes a warrior who cannot bear the opposing heroes standing ready with celestial arms. In desperation and wrath he releases a divine missile and proclaims it will destroy all the Pāṇḍavas, signaling a grave escalation from battle to total destruction.