Shloka 28
स तथोक्तस्तथेत्युक्त्वा कृत्वा विष्णुं शरोत्तमम्,उनके ऐसा कहनेपर भगवान् शिवने “तथास्तु” कहकर उनकी बात मान ली और भगवान् विष्णुको उत्तम बाण, अग्निको उस बाणका शल्य, वैवस्वत यमको पंख, समस्त वेदोंको धनुष, गायत्रीको उत्तम प्रत्यंचा और ब्रह्माको सारथि बनाकर सबको यथावत् रूपसे अपने-अपने कार्योंमें नियुक्त करके तीन पर्व और तीन शल्यवाले उस बाणके द्वारा उन तीनों पुरोंको विदीर्ण कर डाला
sa tathoktas tathety uktvā kṛtvā viṣṇuṁ śarottamam | agniṁ tasya śalyam kṛtvā vaivasvataṁ yamaṁ pakṣau sarvān vedān dhanuḥ | gāyatrīṁ pratyancām uttamāṁ kṛtvā brahmāṇaṁ sārathiṁ kṛtvā sarvān yathāvat svasvakarmasu niyojya | tribhiḥ parvabhiḥ tribhiś ca śalyaiḥ yuktasya tasya śarasya balena tān trīn purān vidīrya papāta ||
Thus addressed, Śiva assented, saying, “So be it.” He then fashioned Viṣṇu as the supreme arrow; made Agni the arrow’s piercing point; appointed Vaivasvata Yama as its feathers; set all the Vedas as the bow; made the Gāyatrī the excellent bowstring; and installed Brahmā as the charioteer. Having duly assigned each to its proper function, with that arrow—endowed with three joints and three barbs—he split apart the three cities and brought them down.
वायुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse presents power as legitimate and effective when it is harmonized with dharma and cosmic order: each divine principle is assigned its proper role, suggesting that righteous action depends on right alignment, not mere force.
Śiva agrees to the request and prepares for the destruction of the three demon cities (Tripura) by assembling a symbolic ‘divine weapon-system’: Viṣṇu becomes the arrow, Agni its point, Yama its feathers, the Vedas the bow, Gāyatrī the bowstring, and Brahmā the charioteer; with this, Śiva pierces and destroys the three cities.