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 ||
Sañjaya thưa: “Ôi bậc chúa tể loài người! Khi Aśvatthāmā phóng Nārāyaṇa-astra vào đại quân Pāṇḍava, sức xung kích của nó cứ tăng mãi, đúng theo mức độ mà các đại chiến xa Pāṇḍava vẫn tiếp tục giao chiến dữ dội. Bị Nārāyaṇa-astra ấy đánh trúng, binh sĩ trên chiến địa bị hành hạ tứ phía, như thể đang bị lửa thiêu đốt quanh mình.”
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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