Shloka 13
Book 10, Adhyāya 12: Aśvatthāmā’s Request for the Cakra and the Brahmaśiras Context
यत् तदुग्रं तप: कृष्ण चरन् सत्यपराक्रम: । अगस्त्याद् भारताचार्य: प्रत्यपद्यत मे पिता
yad tad ugraṁ tapaḥ kṛṣṇa caran satyaparākramaḥ | agastyād bhāratācāryaḥ pratyapadyata me pitā |
毗舍婆耶那说道：“噢，克里希那！我父亲——婆罗多一系的阿阇梨，守真而勇武——曾行严酷苦行，从圣者阿伽斯提耶处得那神圣的梵天神箭（Brahmāstra）。此器为诸天与乾闼婆所敬奉，如今在我手中，正如昔日在我父手中一般。因此，噢，夜度族之最上者，请从我这里收下这天界神兵；而作为交换，请赐我你的轮刃神兵——恰克拉（Cakra），它在战场上灭尽仇敌。”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how extraordinary power (divine weapons) is framed as the fruit of disciplined tapas and legitimate transmission through lineage, and it raises an ethical tension: even revered, heaven-honored weapons are sought for battlefield destruction, so the pursuit of power must be weighed against dharma and responsibility.
A speaker (reported by Vaiśampāyana) states that his father obtained the Brahmāstra from Agastya through fierce austerities; he claims to possess it now and proposes an exchange with Kṛṣṇa—offering the Brahmāstra and requesting Kṛṣṇa’s enemy-destroying Cakra in return.