Vṛtra’s Cosmic Threat, Viṣṇu’s Upāya, and the Conditional Vulnerability
Udyoga-parva 10
विष्णुरुवाच अवश्यं करणीयं मे भवतां हितमुत्तमम् । तस्मादुपायं वक्ष्यामि यथासौ न भविष्यति,भगवान् विष्णु बोले--देवताओ! मुझे तुमलोगोंका उत्तम हित अवश्य करना है। अतः तुम सबको एक उपाय बताऊँगा, जिससे वृत्रासुरका अन्त होगा इति श्रीमहाभारते उद्योगपर्वणि सेनोद्योगपर्वणि वृत्रवधे इन्द्रविजयो नाम दशमो<ध्याय:
viṣṇur uvāca—avaśyaṃ karaṇīyaṃ me bhavatāṃ hitam uttamam | tasmād upāyaṃ vakṣyāmi yathāsau na bhaviṣyati ||
قال فيشنو: «لا بدّ لي أن أُنجز ما فيه خيرُكم الأسمى. لذلك سأبيّن لكم حيلةً بها لا يعود ذاك (العدو) قادرًا على الاستمرار».
शल्य उवाच
The verse frames ethical action as a necessary duty undertaken for the highest welfare of others: when the protection of cosmic order and the well-being of the community are at stake, one should adopt an appropriate, well-considered means (upāya) rather than remain passive.
Viṣṇu addresses the gods, assuring them that he is committed to their supreme welfare and promising to disclose a practical method by which their dangerous adversary (contextually Vṛtra) will be brought to an end.