एवम् उक्त्वा स भगवान् दिवम् आचक्रमे प्रभुः ॥
एतन् नारायणाद् अस्त्रं तत् प्राप्तं मम बन्धुना ॥
तेनाहं पाण्डवांश् चैव पाञ्चालान् मत्स्यकेकयान् ॥
विद्रावयिष्यामि रणे शचीपतिर् इवासुरान् ॥
यथा यथाहम् इच्छेयं तथा भूत्वा शरा मम ॥
निपतेयुः सपत्नेषु विक्रमत्स्व् अपि भारत ॥
evam uktvā sa bhagavān divam ācakrame prabhuḥ ||
etan nārāyaṇād astraṃ tat prāptaṃ mama bandhunā ||
tenāhaṃ pāṇḍavāṃś caiva pāñcālān matsyakekayān ||
vidrāvayiṣyāmi raṇe śacīpatir ivāsurān ||
yathā yathāham iccheyaṃ tathā bhūtvā śarā mama ||
nipateyuḥ sapatneṣu vikramatsv api bhārata ||
Having spoken thus, that lord Bhagavan ascended to heaven. This weapon from Narayana was obtained by my father; with it I shall put to flight in battle the Pandavas, and the Panchalas, Matsyas, and Kekayas, as Shachi's husband [Indra] routs the asuras. However I might wish it, may my arrows, becoming so, fall upon my rivals, even the valiant, O Bharata.
f666c7075b88 · published Jul 19, 2026, 5:08:17 PM UTC
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The weapon obeys the will: the arrows become whatever the wielder desires them to be. It is telling that the power called forth by Narayana to humble pride now becomes an instrument of vengeance in the hands of one overcome by rage. The verse teaches that force answering to the whim of a willful mind is most dangerous of all; and a supreme gift, not subordinated to the higher discipline of the spirit, becomes in the hands of passion not a blessing but a scourge—for everyone, and in the end for its own possessor.