Atithi-satkāra and the Consolation of Wise Counsel (अतिथिसत्कारः प्रज्ञानवचनस्य च पराश्वासनम्)
ततो<5हं खण्डपरशु: स्मृत: परशुखण्डनात् । नरका चलाया हुआ वह परशु सहसा रुद्रके द्वारा खण्डित कर दिया गया। मेरे परशुका खण्डन हो जानेसे मैं 'खण्डपरशु” कहलाया
tato 'haṃ khaṇḍa-paraśuḥ smṛtaḥ paraśu-khaṇḍanāt |
“Pagkaraan, ako’y naalaala bilang ‘Khaṇḍa-paraśu’ (‘ang may basag na palakol’), sapagkat ang aking palakol ay nabasag.” Sa balangkas ng salaysay, ang bansag ay isinilang mula sa isang pangyayaring nagtatakda ng kapalaran: ang pagkakakilanlan ng mandirigma’y namarkahan hindi ng pananakop kundi ng pagkabasag ng sandata—paalalang ang pagmamataas sa lakas ay marupok, at sa Mahābhārata ang mga pangalan ay madalas naglalaman ng kasaysayang moral.
तामिन्द्र उवाच गच्छ नहुषस्त्वया वाच्योथ<पूर्वेण मामृषियुक्तेन यानेन त्वमधिरूढ
The verse illustrates how a person’s reputation can be shaped by a single consequential event, and it subtly cautions against overreliance on martial power: even a weapon—symbol of strength—can be broken, leaving behind a moralized memory encoded in a name.
The speaker explains the origin of the epithet ‘Khaṇḍa-paraśu’: because his axe was broken, he became known by that descriptive name. The line functions as an etiological note (name-origin) within the broader Shānti Parva discourse.