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Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam
[Canto 1, Ch. 7]
TEXT 55
सूत उनाच
अर्जुनः सहसाऽऽज्ञाय हरेर्हर्दिमथासिना । मणि जहार मूर्धन्यं द्विजस्य सहमूर्धजम् ॥५५॥
sūta uvāca arjunaḥ sahasā "jñāya harer hārdam athāsinā maṇim jahāra mūrdhanyam dvijasya saha mūrdhajam
sūtaḥ—Sūta Gosvāmī; uvāca—said; arjunaḥ—Arjuna; sahasā—just at that time; ājñāya—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
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.
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 which 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.
TEXT 56
विमुच्य रशनाबद्धं बालहत्याहतप्रभम् । तेजसा मणिना हीनं शिबिरान्नित्यापयत् ॥५६॥
vimucya raśanābaddham bāla-hatyā-hata-prabham