Shloka 14
Book 10, Adhyāya 12: Aśvatthāmā’s Request for the Cakra and the Brahmaśiras Context
अस्त्रं ब्रह्मशिरो नाम देवगन्धर्वपूजितम् । तदद्य मयि दाशार्ह यथा पितरि मे तथा
astram brahmaśiro nāma devagandharvapūjitam | tad adya mayi dāśārha yathā pitari me tathā ||
വൈശമ്പായനൻ പറഞ്ഞു—ഹേ ദാശാർഹാ! ദേവഗന്ധർവന്മാർ പൂജിക്കുന്ന ‘ബ്രഹ്മശിരസ്’ എന്ന ആയുധം ഇന്ന് എന്റെ പക്കലും പിതാവിനുണ്ടായിരുന്നതുപോലെ തന്നെയുണ്ട്.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical weight of possessing and transferring supreme weapons: lineage and personal capability do not automatically justify their use; such power demands discernment, restraint, and accountability, especially in war.
The speaker (introduced as Vaiśampāyana) reports a request framed as an exchange: the claimant asserts he possesses the revered Brahmaśiras weapon like his father did, and asks Kṛṣṇa (Dāśārha) to accept it and, in return, give his enemy-destroying cakra for use in battle.