Shloka 43
Vṛtra’s Cosmic Threat, Viṣṇu’s Upāya, and the Conditional Vulnerability
Udyoga-parva 10
विष्णु त्रिभुवनश्रेष्ठ पूजयामास धर्मवित् । ततो हते महावीर्यें वृत्रे देवभयंकरे
viṣṇuṃ tribhuvanaśreṣṭhaṃ pūjayāmāsa dharmavit | tato hate mahāvīrye vṛtre devabhayaṅkare |
Śalya sprach: Der Rechtschaffene, kundig im Dharma, verehrte Viṣṇu, den höchsten Herrn der drei Welten. Doch als Vṛtra—gewaltig an Tapferkeit und Schrecken der Götter—erschlagen war, wurde Indra innerlich von der Unwahrheit des Verrats überwältigt und sank in tiefe Trauer; und die Sünde der brahmahatyā, entstanden durch die Tötung Triśiras’, hatte ihn schon zuvor umklammert.
शल्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even when a deed appears to secure victory or safety, violating trust and committing grave wrongdoing (asatya, viśvāsa-ghāta, brahmahatyā) produces inner torment and moral consequence; devotion and ritual honor cannot simply erase ethical culpability without confronting the fault.
After Vṛtra, a fearsome enemy of the gods, is killed, the narrative turns to Indra’s inner state: he becomes mentally distressed, burdened by the sense of betrayal and by the already-present stain of brahmahatyā connected with the killing of Triśiras; alongside this, worship of Viṣṇu is mentioned as a significant act in the aftermath.