Adhyāya 41 — Kṛṣṇa’s Battlefield Briefing and the Renewal of the Great Engagement
स मां निशम्याथ महातपस्वी संशप्तवान् रोषपरीतचेता: । सूतोपधावाप्तमिदं तवास्त्र न कर्मकाले प्रतिभास्यति त्वाम्
sa māṁ niśamyātha mahātapasvī saṁśaptavān roṣaparītacetāḥ | sūtopadhāvāptam idaṁ tavāstraṁ na karmakāle pratibhāsyati tvām ||
Sañjaya berkata: Setelah mendengar kisahku, pertapa agung (Paraśurāma), dengan hati diliputi amarah, menjatuhkan sumpahan: “Wahai sūta! Engkau memperoleh senjata ini dengan tipu daya. Maka, apabila tiba saat bertindak, senjata ini tidak akan terlintas dalam ingatanmu.”
संजय उवाच
Sacred power or knowledge obtained through deception carries an inherent flaw: at the decisive moment it fails. The verse frames this as a moral law—untruth in the means undermines the reliability of the end.
Sañjaya recounts that Paraśurāma, angered after learning the truth, curses the recipient of the weapon: because the Brahmāstra was acquired by deceit, it will not be remembered when it is most needed in battle.