Text 12
tarhy evātha muni-śreṣṭha
pāṇḍavāḥ pañca sāyakān
ātmano ’bhimukhān dīptān
ālakṣyāstrāṇy upādaduḥ
tarhi — then; eva — also; atha — therefore; muni-śreṣṭha — O chief amongst the munis; pāṇḍavāḥ — all the sons of Pāṇḍu; pañca — five; sāyakān — weapons; ātmanaḥ — own selves; abhimukhān — towards; dīptān — glaring; ālakṣya — seeing it; astrāṇi — weapons; upādaduḥ — took up.
おお、偉大な思索家（ムニ）の中で最も重要な者（ソウナカ）よ。まぶしく輝くブラフマーストラが彼らに向かって迫っているのを見て、パンダヴァ兄弟たちはそれぞれの５つの武器を手に取った。
The brahmāstras are finer than the nuclear weapons. Aśvatthāmā discharged the brahmāstra simply to kill the Pāṇḍavas, namely the five brothers headed by Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira and their only grandson, who was lying within the womb of Uttarā. Therefore the brahmāstra, more effective and finer than the atomic weapons, was not as blind as the atomic bombs. When the atomic bombs are discharged they do not discriminate between the target and others. Mainly the atomic bombs do harm to the innocent because there is no control. The brahmāstra is not like that. It marks out the target and proceeds accordingly without harming the innocent.