व्यसनं वीक्ष्य तत्तेषामनन्यविषयात्मनाम् सुदर्शनेन स्वास्त्रेण स्वानां रक्षां व्यधाद्विभुः
vyasanaṁ vīkṣya tat teṣām ananya-viṣayātmanām sudarśanena svāstreṇa svānāṁ rakṣāṁ vyadhād vibhuḥ
Synonyms
vyasanam—great danger; vīkṣya—having observed it; tat—that; teṣām—their; ananya—any other; viṣaya—means; ātmanām—thus inclined; sudarśanena—by the wheel of Śrī Kṛṣṇa; sva astreṇa—by the weapon; svānām—of His own devotees; rakṣām—protection; vyadhāt—did it; vibhuḥ—the Almighty..
Translation
The Almighty Personality of Godhead Śrī Kṛṣṇa, having observed that a great danger was befalling His unalloyed devotees who were fully surrendered souls, at once took up His Sudarśana disc in order to protect them.
Purport
The brahmāstra or the supreme weapon released by Aśvatthāmā was something similar to the nuclear weapon but with more radiation and heat. This brahmāstra is the product of a more subtle science, being the product of a finer sound or mantra recorded in the Vedas. Another advantage of this weapon is that it is not blind like the nuclear weapon because it can be directed only to the target and nothing else. Aśvatthāmā released the weapon just to finish all the male members of Pāṇḍu's family: therefore in one sense it was more dangerous than the atomic bombs because it could penetrate even the most protected place and would never miss the target. Knowing all this, Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa took up at once His personal weapon to protect His devotees, who did not know anyone other than Kṛṣṇa. In the Bhagavad-gītā the Lord has clearly promised that His devotees are never to be vanquished. And He behaves according to the quality or degree of the devotional service by the devotees. Here the word ananya-viṣayātmanām is significant. The Pāṇḍavas were cent percent dependent on the protection of the Lord, although they were all great warriors themselves. But the Lord neglects even the greatest warrior and also vanquishes them in no time. When the Lord saw that there was no time for the Pāṇḍavas to counteract the brahmāstra of Aśvatthāmā, He took up the weapon even at the risk of breaking His own vow. Although the Battle of Kurukṣetra was almost finished, still, according to His vow, He should not have taken up His own weapon. But the emergency was more important than the vow. He is better known as the bhakta-vatsala, or the lover of His devotee, and thus He preferred to continue as bhakta-vatsala than to be a worldly moralist who never breaks his solemn vow.