Mahabharata 3.172.8 — Vana Parva, Adhyaya 172, Shloka 8
Divyāstrāṇāṃ Pradarśana-nivāraṇa
Display of Divine Weapons and Its Prohibition
तत्रोपदिष्टमिन्द्रेण दिव्यमस्त्र विशोषणम् । दीप्तं॑ प्राहिणवं घोरमशुष्यत् तेन तज्जलम्
tatro padiṣṭam indreṇa divyam astra-viśoṣaṇam | dīptaṁ prāhiṇavaṁ ghoraṁ aśuṣyat tena taj jalam ||
അവിടെ ദേവരാജൻ ഇന്ദ്രൻ ഉപദേശിച്ച ദിവ്യ ‘വിശോഷണ’ അസ്ത്രം—ദീപ്തവും ഭയങ്കരവുമായത്—ഞാൻ പ്രയോഗിച്ചു. അതിന്റെ പ്രഭാവത്തിൽ അവിടത്തെ മഴവെള്ളം മുഴുവനും ഉണങ്ങി; ധാരാവർഷം നിർഫലമായി.
अजुन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Extraordinary power, especially divinely granted weaponry, is to be used with discernment for protection and the restoration of order; the verse highlights mastery over forces of nature through disciplined knowledge rather than mere aggression.
Arjuna recounts that, in a critical moment, he invoked a celestial weapon taught by Indra—the viśoṣaṇāstra—which dried up the rainwater, neutralizing the downpour and changing the immediate conditions of the encounter.
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