Shloka 50
कर्णपर्व — पञ्चदशोऽध्यायः | Karṇa Parva, Chapter 15: Pāṇḍya’s Advance and Aśvatthāmā’s Counterstroke
ततः परमसंक्रुद्धः पाण्डवे<स्त्राण्यवासृजत् । अश्वत्थामाभिरूपाय गृहानतिथये यथा
tataḥ parama-saṅkruddhaḥ pāṇḍave 'strāṇy avāsṛjat | aśvatthāmābhirūpāya gṛhān atithaye yathā ||
Sañjaya berkata: Kemudian Aśvatthāmā, menyala dengan amarah yang meluap, melontarkan senjata-senjatanya ke arah putera Pāṇḍu (Arjuna) dengan begitu boros—seperti seorang tuan rumah menyerahkan seluruh rumahnya kepada tetamu yang layak.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how uncontrolled anger can drive a warrior to expend all resources without measure. By comparing the weapon-release to a householder surrendering his whole home to a guest, it suggests that intensity (whether hospitality or hostility) must be governed by discernment; otherwise, power becomes wasteful and ethically precarious.
Sañjaya narrates that Aśvatthāmā, seized by great fury, begins discharging weapons against Arjuna. The comparison implies a profuse, almost indiscriminate outpouring of astras, as if he is handing over everything at once to a ‘worthy recipient’—here, his formidable opponent.