Shloka 60
ततो भ्रातुर्वचश्श्रुत्वा वातापिर्मेषवन्नदन्।।।।भित्त्वा भित्त्वा शरीराणि ब्राह्मणानां विनिष्पतत्।
tato bhrātur vacaḥ śrutvā vātāpir meṣavan nadan | bhittvā bhittvā śarīrāṇi brāhmaṇānāṃ viniṣpatat || 3.11.60 ||
Als Vātāpi den Ruf seines Bruders hörte, blökte er wie ein Widder, brach hervor und riss die Körper der Brahmanen auf.
Then hearing his brother's voice, Vatapi would bleat like a sheep and jump out, tearing open the bodies of those brahmins.
FAQs
The verse highlights adharma: deception and violence directed at the innocent—especially those engaged in sacred duty—are portrayed as profoundly unrighteous and socially destructive.
In the Ilvala–Vātāpi scheme, Vātāpi (disguised as food) is eaten by unsuspecting brahmins; on Ilvala’s summons he bursts out, killing them.
By contrast (through negation), the virtue implied is ahiṃsā and protection of the righteous—an obligation later taken up by dhārmic heroes and sages.