Shloka 8
धनंजयस्य आश्वासनम्
Dhanaṃjaya’s Reassurance and the Opening Engagement
तत्र देवास्त्रयस्त्रिंशत् तिष्ठन्ति सहवासवा: । गन्धर्वा राक्षसा: सर्पा: पितरक्ष महर्षिभि:
tatra devās trayastriṁśat tiṣṭhanti sahavāsavāḥ | gandharvā rākṣasāḥ sarpāḥ pitarakṣa maharṣibhiḥ |
Dort, in jener himmlischen Szenerie, standen die dreiunddreißig Götter strahlend beisammen mit Vāsava (Indra). Neben ihnen waren auch Gandharvas, Rākṣasas, Schlangenwesen (Nāgas), die Pitṛs (Ahnengeister) und große Seher—eine Versammlung, die die weite sittliche Ordnung des Kosmos verkündet, in der göttliche Autorität, Ahnenrecht und asketische Einsicht als Zeugen gegenwärtig sind.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse emphasizes a vision of dharmic cosmos: sovereignty (Indra), ancestral authority (Pitṛs), and spiritual insight (Maharṣis) coexist as legitimizing witnesses. Power is shown as accountable to a larger moral and cosmic order.
Vaiśaṃpāyana describes a divine gathering where Indra and the thirty-three gods are present, accompanied by other classes of beings—Gandharvas, Rākṣasas, Nāgas, Pitṛs, and sages—forming a grand celestial assembly.