Mahabharata — Sauptika Parva, Shloka 18
Brahmaśirastra-pratisaṃhāra — Retraction and redirection of the supreme weapon
Sauptika Parva, Adhyāya 15
'पाण्डवोंके विनाशका संकल्प लेकर छोड़ा गया यह दिव्यास्त्र आज समस्त पाण्डुपुत्रोंकी जीवनशून्य कर देगा ।।
kṛtaṃ pāpam idaṃ brahman roṣāviṣṭena cetasā | vadham āśāsya pārthānāṃ mayāstraṃ sṛjatā raṇe ||
毗舍摩波耶那说道：“这件神兵，是怀着毁灭般度族的决意而放出的；今日它将使般度诸子尽皆命绝。噢，婆罗门啊，我被愤怒攫住心神，犯下了这桩大罪：在战场上，盼望帕尔塔诸人死去，我放出了此武器。”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights that actions driven by anger and the wish to exterminate others—even in war—carry moral culpability. It frames the discharge of a powerful weapon as pāpa because the motive is wrathful vengeance rather than righteous duty.
In the Sauptika episode’s aftermath, the speaker reports a confession-like admission: a combatant has released an astra on the battlefield with the intention of killing the Pārthas (Pandavas), and recognizes the act as a grave sin born of rage.