Srimad Bhagavatam — Shashtha Skandha, Shloka 26
Diti’s Puṁsavana Vow, Indra’s Intervention, and the Birth of the Maruts
आशासानस्य तस्येदं ध्रुवमुन्नद्धचेतस: । मदशोषक इन्द्रस्य भूयाद्येन सुतो हि मे ॥ २६ ॥
āśāsānasya tasyedaṁ dhruvam unnaddha-cetasaḥ mada-śoṣaka indrasya bhūyād yena suto hi me
Diti dachte: Indra hält seinen Körper für ewig und ist deshalb zügellos geworden. Deshalb wünsche ich mir einen Sohn, der Indras Wahnsinn beseitigen kann. Lass mich einige Mittel anwenden, um mir dabei zu helfen.
One who is in the bodily conception of life is compared in the śāstras to animals like cows and asses. Diti wanted to punish Indra, who had become like a lower animal.
FAQs
This verse highlights the intent to “dry up Indra’s pride,” implying that arrogance is a spiritual impurity that inevitably meets correction through time, karma, and divine arrangement.
Indra is a powerful deva who sometimes becomes fearful or proud; the Bhagavatam uses his repeated tests to teach that even high position is unstable without humility and devotion.
Treat pride as something to be reduced, not fed: cultivate humility, accept feedback, and remember that power and achievement are temporary and meant for service, not self-exaltation.