Shloka 25
Śiva Grants the Pāśupata Astra (Pāśupata-Śastra Upadeśa) | शिवेन पाशुपतास्त्रदानम्
लघ्वी वसुमती चापि कर्तव्या विष्णुना सह । गृहाणास्त्रं महाबाहो दण्डमप्रतिवारणम् । अनेनास्त्रेण सुमहत् त्वं हि कर्म करिष्यसि,“महाबाहो! भगवान् श्रीकृष्णके साथ मिलकर तुम्हें इस पृथ्वीका भार भी हलका करना है, अतः यह मेरा दण्डास्त्र ग्रहण करो। इसका वेग कहीं भी कुण्ठित नहीं होता। इसी अस्त्रके द्वारा तुम बड़े-बड़े कार्य सिद्ध करोगे”
laghvī vasumatī cāpi kartavyā viṣṇunā saha | gṛhāṇāstraṃ mahābāho daṇḍam aprativāraṇam | anenāstreṇa sumahat tvaṃ hi karma kariṣyasi ||
Disse Vaiśampāyana: “Ó de braços poderosos, junto com Viṣṇu (Śrī Kṛṣṇa) deves aliviar o fardo da terra. Portanto, aceita esta arma Daṇḍa—sua força não pode ser detida em lugar algum. Com ela, realizarás feitos imensamente grandiosos.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames heroic action as a dharmic, world-sustaining duty: the warrior’s power is legitimate when aligned with divine purpose (Viṣṇu/Kṛṣṇa) to relieve the earth’s oppressive burden—symbolizing the removal of adharma. The ‘irresistible’ weapon signifies sanctioned force used for restoring order, not personal gain.
The speaker (Vaiśampāyana, narrating) reports that a hero addressed as ‘mahābāhu’ is instructed to join Kṛṣṇa in a cosmic task—reducing the earth’s burden—and is therefore given a powerful weapon called the Daṇḍāstra, described as unstoppable and destined to enable great accomplishments.