Shloka 16
Brahmaśirastra-pratisaṃhāra — Retraction and redirection of the supreme weapon
Sauptika Parva, Adhyāya 15
विसृष्ट हि मया दिव्यमेतदस्त्रं दुरासदम् । अपाण्डवायेति मुने वलह्वितेजो<नुमन्त्रय वै,“'मुने! मैंने इस दुर्जय दिव्यास्त्रको अग्निके तेजसे युक्त एवं अभिमन्त्रित करके इस उद्देश्यसे छोड़ा था कि पाण्डवोंका नामो-निशान मिट जाय
visṛṣṭaṃ hi mayā divyam etad astraṃ durāsadam | apāṇḍavāyeti mune valahvitejo 'numantraya vai ||
वैशम्पायन उवाच— मुने, मया हि दिव्यमेतदस्त्रं दुरासदं वह्नितेजसा सम्यगभिमन्त्र्य विसृष्टम्; अपाण्डवायेति— पाण्डवानां नामापि न शिष्यते इति मेऽभिप्रायः।
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical collapse that occurs when sacred power (a divinely invoked astra) is used with the intention of total annihilation. It frames such intent as driven by vengeance rather than dharma, warning that mantra-charged force does not become righteous merely because it is ‘divine’.
The speaker reports that a divine weapon was deliberately released after being empowered and consecrated with fiery energy, specifically aiming to erase the Pāṇḍavas’ very existence—setting the stage for the moral and narrative consequences of deploying an irresistible astra in anger.