Shloka 24

उद्योगपर्व अध्याय १३३ — संजये मातृउपदेशः

Udyoga Parva Adhyaya 133 — A Mother’s Counsel to Saṃjaya

Devanagari script

इन्द्रो वृत्रवधेनैव महेन्द्र: समपद्यत । माहेन्द्रं च गृहं लेभे लोकानां चेश्वरो5भवत्‌

Transliteration

Indro vṛtravadhenaiva mahendraḥ samapadyata | māhendraṃ ca gṛhaṃ lebhe lokānāṃ ceśvaro 'bhavat ||

Translation

Durch die Tötung Vṛtras allein gelangte Indra zum Rang des „Mahendra“. Er erhielt den himmlischen Palast namens Māhendra als Wohnsitz und wurde zum souveränen Herrn der Welten.

Word by Word

• {'indraḥ': 'Indra, king of the gods', 'vṛtra-vadhena': 'by the killing of Vṛtra (vṛtra = the demon Vṛtra

• vadha = slaying)', 'eva': 'indeed, alone, just by', 'mahendraḥ': '‘Great Indra’, an epithet/title of Indra', 'samapadyata': 'attained, came to be, obtained (a state/status)', 'māhendraṃ': 'belonging to Mahendra

• the ‘Māhendra’ (celestial) palace/mansion', 'gṛham': 'house, dwelling, abode', 'lebhe': 'obtained, received', 'lokānām': 'of the worlds/peoples', 'ca': 'and', 'īśvaraḥ': 'lord, ruler, sovereign', 'abhavat': 'became'}

Speaker

पुत्र उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Indra
• Vṛtra
• Māhendra-gṛha (Indra’s celestial abode)
• Lokāḥ (the worlds/three worlds)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

A single decisive act—especially the defeat of a powerful adversary—can confer lasting renown and sovereignty. The verse uses Indra’s Vṛtra-slaying as an exemplar of how one deed can elevate status, while implicitly reminding that power and fame arise from consequential action within the cosmic order.

What is happening in the narrative?

The speaker cites a well-known mythic precedent: Indra became celebrated as ‘Mahendra’ after killing Vṛtra, gained the Māhendra celestial residence, and became lord over the worlds. This functions as an illustrative argument to emphasize how victory over even one enemy can establish greatness.