कर्णपर्व — पञ्चदशोऽध्यायः | Karṇa Parva, Chapter 15: Pāṇḍya’s Advance and Aśvatthāmā’s Counterstroke
ततः परमसंक्रुद्धः पाण्डवे<स्त्राण्यवासृजत् । अश्वत्थामाभिरूपाय गृहानतिथये यथा
tataḥ parama-saṅkruddhaḥ pāṇḍave 'strāṇy avāsṛjat | aśvatthāmābhirūpāya gṛhān atithaye yathā ||
Sañjaya nói: Rồi Aśvatthāmā, bốc lên cơn thịnh nộ tột cùng, phóng vũ khí vào con trai Pāṇḍu (Arjuna) một cách phung phí, như chủ nhà dốc trao cả cơ nghiệp cho một vị khách xứng đáng.
संजय उवाच
The verse highlights how uncontrolled anger can drive a warrior to expend all resources without measure. By comparing the weapon-release to a householder surrendering his whole home to a guest, it suggests that intensity (whether hospitality or hostility) must be governed by discernment; otherwise, power becomes wasteful and ethically precarious.
Sañjaya narrates that Aśvatthāmā, seized by great fury, begins discharging weapons against Arjuna. The comparison implies a profuse, almost indiscriminate outpouring of astras, as if he is handing over everything at once to a ‘worthy recipient’—here, his formidable opponent.