Shloka 40
Bala: The Rise and Slaying of the Dānava
and the Devas’ Restoration
कथमेनं हनिष्यामि देवधर्मविदूषकम् । इति निश्चित्य देवेशो बलस्य निधनं प्रति
kathamenaṃ haniṣyāmi devadharmavidūṣakam | iti niścitya deveśo balasya nidhanaṃ prati
“দেৱধৰ্ম দুষিত কৰা এইজনক মই কেনেকৈ বধ কৰিম?”—এইদৰে স্থিৰ সংকল্প কৰি দেৱেশ্বৰে বলৰ বিনাশৰ দিশে মন স্থাপন কৰিলে।
Narrator (contextual; verse reports the resolve of Deveśa/Indra)
Primary Rasa: raudra
Secondary Rasa: bhayanaka
Sandhi Resolution Notes: कथमेनं = कथम् + एनम्
FAQs
“Deveśa” means “Lord of the gods,” commonly indicating Indra in Purāṇic narratives; here it denotes the divine ruler deciding on a course against Bala.
It means “one who corrupts/defiles the dharma of the gods”—i.e., a violator of sacred order, ritual propriety, and divine law.
It frames the dilemma of using violence to protect dharma: the speaker weighs the act of killing against the necessity of stopping a grave corrupter of sacred order.