Shloka 21

Prahlada at Kurukshetra — Prahlada’s Kurukshetra Pilgrimage and the Origin of the Chakra–Trishula Exchange

Devanagari script

देवासुराणामजयो महाहवे निजैश्च शस्त्रैरमरैरवध्यः ब्रह्मर्षिशापैश्च निरीप्सितार्थो जले च वह्नौ स्वगुणोपहर्त्ता

Transliteration

devāsurāṇāmajayo mahāhave nijaiśca śastrairamarairavadhyaḥ brahmarṣiśāpaiśca nirīpsitārtho jale ca vahnau svaguṇopaharttā

Translation

["bhṛtya", "kṛśa", "tejasvī", "puṣṭa-vapuḥ", "preta", "karmic signs"]

Speakers

• Narrator (Purāṇic voice) describing Andhaka’s invincibility to the audience within the chapter’s frame

Primary Deities

• Shiva
• Devas (collective)

Key Themes

• Andhaka’s boons and near-invulnerability
• Limits of weapons and curses
• Cosmic imbalance caused by an asura’s power

Verse Rasa (Emotional Flavour)

{ "primaryRasa": "raudra", "secondaryRasa": "bhayanaka", "rasaIntensity": 0, "emotionalArcPosition": "", "moodDescriptors": [] }

FAQs

Why are weapons, curses, water, and fire all mentioned together?

The verse stacks multiple ‘defeating conditions’ to portray a boon-like invulnerability: martial defeat (weapons), ritual-moral defeat (ṛṣi-śāpa), and elemental defeat (water/fire). This is a common Purāṇic way to signal that ordinary cosmic regulators cannot restrain the asura.

What does ‘svaguṇopaharttā’ imply about his protection?

It indicates an internalized protection—his own inherent power cancels hostile forces—rather than external armor or allies. This prepares the narrative need for a higher divine intervention (typically Śiva in the Andhaka cycle).

Does ‘brahmarṣiśāpaiśca’ mean the sages’ curses were wrong?

Not necessarily. Purāṇas often depict boons or extraordinary tapas as creating exceptional immunity, so the curse remains potent in principle but is obstructed from reaching its intended effect (nirīpsitārtha) against this particular target.