Credible Theories
India · Mahabharata, Sauptika Parva

The Brahmashira burns the unborn

ReferenceMahabharata, Sauptika Parva
Writtenc. 400 BCE–400 CE
SetEnd of the Kurukshetra war
Ashvatthama launches the Brahmashira weapon. Arjuna answers with his own. The sages beg them to withdraw, because the clash would burn the world. Ashvatthama cannot recall his, so he redirects it into the wombs of the Pandava women; Krishna revives the stillborn Parikshit.

Summary by the editors. Translation: Summary in my own words

Read it literally

A weapon that cannot be recalled once fired and harms unborn children. Readers today hear radiation in that.

What scholars say

Same epic.

People and places hereArjunaAshvatthamaParikshit

Quick answers about Mahabharata, Sauptika Parva

Where is Mahabharata, Sauptika Parva found?

Mahabharata, Sauptika Parva (India). Translation quoted: Summary in my own words.

When was Mahabharata, Sauptika Parva written?

c. 400 BCE–400 CE.

What do scholars say about Mahabharata, Sauptika Parva?

Same epic.

Sources

  1. The Mahabharata, trans. Kisari Mohan Ganguli (1883–1896)Primary text

Scholarly dates are rounded. The wording follows the named public-domain translation.

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