यथेष्टम् अश्मवर्षेण प्रवर्षिष्ये रणे स्थितः ॥
अयोमुखैश् च विहगैर् द्रावयिष्ये महारथान् ॥
परश्वधांश् च विविधान् प्रसक्ष्ये ऽहम् असंशयम् ॥
सो ऽहं नारायणास्त्रेण महता शत्रुतापन ॥
शत्रून् विध्वंसयिष्यामि कदर्थीकृत्य पाण्डवान् ॥
मित्रब्रह्मगुरुद्वेषी जाल्मकः सुविगर्हितः ॥
पाञ्चालापसदश् चाद्य न मे जीवन् विमोक्ष्यते ॥
yatheṣṭam aśmavarṣeṇa pravarṣiṣye raṇe sthitaḥ ||
ayomukhaiś ca vihagair drāvayiṣye mahārathān ||
paraśvadhāṃś ca vividhān prasakṣye 'ham asaṃśayam ||
so 'haṃ nārāyaṇāstreṇa mahatā śatrutāpana ||
śatrūn vidhvaṃsayiṣyāmi kadarthīkṛtya pāṇḍavān ||
mitrabrahmagurudveṣī jālmakaḥ suvigarhitaḥ ||
pāñcālāpasadaś cādya na me jīvan vimokṣyate ||
'Standing in battle, I shall pour down at will a rain of stones; and with iron-beaked birds [arrows] I shall put to flight the great charioteers; and various axes I shall send forth, without doubt. Thus, with the great Narayana weapon, O scorcher of foes, I shall crush the enemies, having humbled the Pandavas. The hater of friends, brahmins, and gurus, an utterly contemptible scoundrel, that Panchala degenerate [Dhrishtadyumna], shall not escape me alive today.'
3bc4e251c055 · published Jul 19, 2026, 5:08:17 PM UTC
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The vow reaches its peak of fury: rains of stones, iron-beaked birds, axes—and a sentence pronounced upon Dhrishtadyumna, "the enemy of gurus." It is telling that Ashvatthaman brands his foe as "hater of teachers" while himself preparing to unleash blind destruction upon a multitude of the innocent. The verse teaches that anger distorts vision, turning righteous indignation into unjust slaughter; and one who, in the name of dishonored honor, prepares indiscriminate death for many transgresses the very dharma he claims to avenge.