Devanagari
सूत उवाच
अर्जुन: सहसाज्ञाय हरेर्हार्दमथासिना ।
मणिं जहार मूर्धन्यं द्विजस्य सहमूर्धजम् ॥ ५५ ॥
Verse text
sūta uvāca
arjunaḥ sahasājṣāya
harer hārdam athāsinā
maṇiṁ jahāra mūrdhanyaṁ
dvijasya saha-mūrdhajam
Synonyms
sūtaḥ
—
Sūta Gosvāmī
;
uvāca
—
said
;
arjunaḥ
—
Arjuna
;
sahasā
—
just at that time
;
ājṣāya
—
knowing it
;
hareḥ
—
of the Lord
;
hārdam
—
motive
;
atha
—
thus
;
asinā
—
by the sword
;
maṇim
—
the jewel
;
jahāra
—
separated
;
mūrdhanyam
—
on the head
;
dvijasya
—
of the twice-born
;
saha
—
with
;
mūrdhajam
—
hairs .
Translation
Sūta Gosvāmī said: Just then Arjuna could understand the motive of the Lord by His equivocal orders, and thus with his sword he severed both hair and jewel from the head of Aśvatthāmā.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
Sūta said: Suddenly understanding Kṛṣṇa’s intention, Arjuna cut off the jewel on Aśvatthāmā’s head along with his hair.
Purport
Contradictory orders of different persons are impossible to carry out. Therefore a compromise was selected by Arjuna by his sharp intelligence, and he separated the jewel from the head of Aśvatthāmā. This was as good as cutting off his head, and yet his life was saved for all practical purposes. Here Aśvatthāmā is indicated as twice-born. Certainly he was twice-born, but he fell down from his position, and therefore he was properly punished.
Commentary (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
Understanding Kṛṣṇa’s intention (hārdam) Arjuna then acted. “I made the promise to cut off his head. Kṛṣṇa has said that I have to fulfill that promise. He has also said I should please Draupadī. Therefore I cannot cut off his head. It is not impossible. I should fulfill both directions. Therefore somehow I must do that.” This was what he discerned. He then cut off the jewel on his head (maṇiṁ mūrdhanyam) along with his hair. The jewel is situated on his head and thus represents his head. Thus it also means “head.” Therefore cutting off his jewel is cutting off his head. But in the literal sense, his head will not be cut off. Thus Aśvatthāmā was killed and not killed.