Shloka 32
Śiva Grants the Pāśupata Astra (Pāśupata-Śastra Upadeśa) | शिवेन पाशुपतास्त्रदानम्
अनेन वत्वं यदास्त्रेण संग्रामे विचरिष्यसि । तदा निःक्षत्रिया भूमिर्भविष्यति न संशय:,“इस अस्त्रके द्वारा जब तुम संग्रामभूमिमें विचरण करोगे, उस समय यह सारी वसुन्धरा क्षत्रियोंसे शून्य हो जायगी, इसमें संशय नहीं है”
anena tvam yadāstreṇa saṅgrāme vicariṣyasi | tadā niḥkṣatriyā bhūmir bhaviṣyati na saṁśayaḥ ||
Vaiśampāyana berkata: “Apabila engkau merayau di medan perang dengan menghunus senjata ini, maka bumi akan menjadi tandus daripada para kṣatriya—tiada syak lagi.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse warns that deploying an exceptionally destructive weapon carries collective, civilizational consequences: it can erase the very class responsible for protection and governance, thereby destabilizing dharma and social balance.
Vaiśampāyana reports a prophetic warning about the future use of a particular astra: if the addressed warrior uses it while ranging in battle, the slaughter will be so vast that the earth will be left without kṣatriyas.