Srimad Bhagavatam — Ashtama Skandha, Shloka 11
Indra Slays Namuci—The Limits of Power and the Triumph of Divine Strategy
एवं निराकृतो देवो वैरिणा तथ्यवादिना । नामृष्यत् तदधिक्षेपं तोत्राहत इव द्विप: ॥ ११ ॥
evaṁ nirākṛto devo vairiṇā tathya-vādinā nāmṛṣyat tad-adhikṣepaṁ totrāhata iva dvipaḥ
Since Mahārāja Bali’s rebukes were truthful, King Indra did not at all become sorry, just as an elephant beaten by its driver’s rod does not become agitated.
FAQs
This verse shows that even when criticism is factually true, if it is delivered as an attack, it can inflame pride and trigger anger—likened to an elephant provoked by a goad.
Because the words were not merely true—they were a deliberate insult (adhikṣepa). The demigod could not bear the humiliation and reacted with rage.
When corrected or criticized, distinguish truth from contempt: accept what is true without letting ego turn it into anger, and respond with steadiness rather than retaliation.