Shloka 31
Brahmaśirastra-pratisaṃhāra — Retraction and redirection of the supreme weapon
Sauptika Parva, Adhyāya 15
यत्तु मे भगवानाह तन्मे कार्यमनन्तरम् | अयं मणिरयं चाहमीषिका तु पतिष्यति
yat tu me bhagavān āha tan me kāryam anantaram | ayaṃ maṇir ayaṃ cāham īṣikā tu patiṣyati |
Wika ni Vyāsa: “Ngunit anuman ang iniutos sa akin ng Mapalad na Panginoon—iyon ang dapat kong gawin agad. Narito ang hiyas, at narito ako (na nagpapasakop). Gayunman, ang talim ng damong ito, na binasbasan ng isang sandatang makalangit, ay tiyak na babagsak sa mga sanggol na nasa sinapupunan ng angkan ng mga Pāṇḍava, sapagkat ang kataas-taasang palasong ito ay hindi pumapalya. O Panginoon, hindi ko na kayang bawiin ang sandatang ito kapag ito’y napakawalan na.”
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights dharma as immediate obedience to rightful command and the moral weight of actions once set in motion: a weapon released—especially one empowered as ‘unfailing’—cannot be casually recalled, so restraint and responsibility must precede its use.
The speaker submits to the Lord’s instruction by offering the jewel and himself, yet warns that the consecrated īṣikā carrying a divine missile will still strike the Pāṇḍavas’ unborn offspring, because the weapon is described as amogha (infallible) and cannot be withdrawn after release.