Mahabharata 7.201.22 — Drona Parva, Adhyaya 201, Shloka 22
अभश्रत्थामाके द्वारा पाण्डव-सेनापर नारायणास्त्रका प्रयोग जनेश्वर! पाण्डव-महारथी जैसे-जैसे युद्ध करते थे, वैसे-ही-वैसे उस अस्त्रका वेग बढ़ता जाता था ।।
sañjaya uvāca | aśvatthāmnā kṛte dvāraḥ pāṇḍava-senāparā narāyaṇāstrasya prayogaḥ, janeśvara | pāṇḍava-mahārathā yathā-yathā yuddham akurvata tathā-tathā tasya astrasya vegaḥ vardhamāna eva | vadhyamānās tadāstreṇa tena nārāyaṇena vai | dāhyamānānaleneva sarvato 'bhyarditā raṇe ||
سنجے نے کہا—اے مردوں کے سردار! جب اشوتھاما نے پانڈوؤں کی فوج پر نارائن استر چھوڑا تو پانڈوؤں کے مہارتھی جتنا جتنا زور سے لڑتے گئے، اتنا اتنا ہی اس استر کا زور بڑھتا گیا۔ اس نارائن استر سے زخمی سپاہی میدانِ جنگ میں ہر طرف سے ایسے ستائے گئے گویا چاروں جانب آگ انہیں جھلسا رہی ہو۔
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights that in dharmic reflection on war, courage alone is not always the right response: against certain divinely empowered forces, continued aggression can amplify harm. It points to the ethical need for discernment and restraint, not merely valor, when the means of violence become overwhelming.
Aśvatthāmā releases the Nārāyaṇa-weapon at the Pāṇḍava forces. As the Pāṇḍava elite fighters keep engaging in combat, the weapon’s force increases correspondingly, and the soldiers suffer intensely on the battlefield, as if surrounded by burning fire.
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