Adhyaya 18 — Arjuna Declines the Throne; Garga Directs Him to Dattatreya; The Gods Defeat the Daityas through Dattatreya’s Vision and the Movement of Lakshmi
अर्जुन उवाच कथमाराधितो देवैर्दत्तात्रेयः प्रतापवान् ।
कथञ्चापहृतं दैत्यैरिन्द्रत्वं प्राप वासवः ॥
arjuna uvāca katham ārādhito devair dattātreyaḥ pratāpavān | kathañ cāpahṛtaṃ daityair indratvaṃ prāpa vāsavaḥ ||
Arjuna sprach: Wie wurde der mächtige Dattātreya von den Göttern verehrt? Und wie gewann Vāsava (Indra), nachdem die Indra-Würde von den Daityas geraubt worden war, sie wieder zurück?
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The text models dharmic learning through inquiry: a listener asks for causal explanation (how worship works; how loss and restoration occur), prompting a didactic narrative.
It is a narrative hinge (praśna) that introduces an episode of vaṃśānucarita-type storytelling about divine offices and conflicts.
The question frames a soteriological pattern: fall (loss of indriya-lordship), discipline (upāsanā), and reintegration (restored sovereignty).