Shloka 11
ततो लोका: पुनः प्राप्ता: सुरैः शान्तभयैर्न॒प । अथैनमन्रुवन् देवा भूमिष्ठानसुरान् जहि
tato lokāḥ punaḥ prāptāḥ suraiḥ śāntabhayair nṛpa | athainam abruvan devā bhūmiṣṭhān asurān jahi ||
Bhīṣma sprach: „Dann, o König, als die Furcht der Götter besänftigt war, kehrten sie wieder in ihre jeweiligen Welten zurück. Danach redeten die Gottheiten ihn abermals an: ‚Nun vernichte auch die Asuras, die noch auf Erden wohnen.‘“
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames force as legitimate only when aligned with restoring cosmic and social order: once fear is removed and stability returns, the remaining source of harm is to be addressed. It implies a dharmic duty of protection—eliminating persistent threats so that peace is not merely temporary.
After the gods’ fear has been pacified, they return to their own realms. Then they again approach the addressed figure (identified in the accompanying prose as Agastya) and urge him to destroy the Asuras who are still residing on earth.