किरन् हि शरजालानि सर्वतो भैरवस्वरम् ॥
शत्रून् निपातयिष्यामि महावात इव द्रुमान् ॥
न च जानाति बीभत्सुस् तद् अस्त्रं न जनार्दनः ॥
न भीमसेनो न यमौ न च राजा युधिष्ठिरः ॥
न पार्षतो दुरात्मासौ न शिखण्डी न सात्यकिः ॥
यद् इदं मयि कौरव्य सकल्यं सनिवर्तनम् ॥
kiran hi śarajālāni sarvato bhairavasvaram ||
śatrūn nipātayiṣyāmi mahāvāta iva drumān ||
na ca jānāti bībhatsus tad astraṃ na janārdanaḥ ||
na bhīmaseno na yamau na ca rājā yudhiṣṭhiraḥ ||
na pārṣato durātmāsau na śikhaṇḍī na sātyakiḥ ||
yad idaṃ mayi kauravya sakalyaṃ sanivartanam ||
Scattering nets of arrows on every side with a terrible roar, I shall lay my enemies low as a great wind fells trees. Bibhatsu [Arjuna] does not know that weapon, nor does Janardana [Krishna], nor Bhimasena, nor the twins, nor King Yudhishthira. Neither Parshata, that wretch, nor Shikhandin, nor Satyaki know what lies within me, O Kaurava—the full mastery of both its loosing and its withdrawal.
4b740e474be5 · published Jul 19, 2026, 5:08:17 PM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
Ashvatthaman sees his advantage in a secret knowledge: he alone commands both the release and the recall of the fearsome weapon. It is telling that his strength lies in the completeness of his mastery, while the others do not even know of it. The verse teaches that true power lies not in possessing a means but in knowing how to govern it—to direct it and to hold it back; yet in his mouth this knowledge serves not restraint but threat, and so risks turning against himself.