Shloka 66
Aśvatthāmā’s Stuti of Rudra and Śiva’s Empowerment (सौप्तिकपर्व, अध्याय ७)
एवमुक््त्वा महात्मानं भगवानात्मनस्तनुम् । आविवेश ददौ चास्मै विमलं खड्गमुत्तमम्
evam uktvā mahātmānaṃ bhagavān ātmanas tanum | āviveśa dadau cāsmai vimalaṃ khaḍgam uttamam ||
ਸੰਜਯ ਬੋਲਿਆ— ਇਉਂ ਕਹਿ ਕੇ ਭਗਵਾਨ ਨੇ ਉਸ ਮਹਾਤਮਾ ਉੱਤੇ ਕਿਰਪਾ ਕਰਦਿਆਂ ਆਪਣੇ ਹੀ ਦੇਹਧਾਰੀ ਸਰੂਪ ਵਿੱਚ ਪ੍ਰਵੇਸ਼ ਕੀਤਾ ਅਤੇ ਉਸ ਨੂੰ ਇਕ ਨਿਰਮਲ, ਉੱਤਮ ਖੜਗ ਬਖ਼ਸ਼ਿਆ।
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Power and divine favor (symbolized by a flawless sword) do not remove moral responsibility; in a war-torn setting, the purity of a weapon contrasts with the impurity that can arise from its use, highlighting the ethical weight of violent action.
After addressing a great-souled figure, the divine speaker withdraws/enters into his own embodied form and grants the recipient an excellent, spotless sword—an act that signals empowerment and sanction within the tense events of the Sauptika (night-raid) sequence.