Shloka 81
Śrāddha-Kalpa: Pitṛ-Pūjā and Tithi-Phala (श्राद्धकल्पः पितृपूजा च तिथिफलम्)
स्थानानि देवतानां हि विमानानि पुराणि च । ऋषीणां चाश्रमाश्वचैव बभूवुरसुरैर््वता:,असुरोंने देवताओंके स्थान, विमान, नगर तथा ऋषियोंके आश्रम भी छीन लिये थे
sthānāni devatānāṃ hi vimānāni purāṇi ca | ṛṣīṇāṃ cāśramāś caiva babhūvur asurair hṛtāḥ ||
Bhishma said: The Asuras seized even the sacred abodes of the gods—their ancient celestial chariots and holy cities—and they also took possession of the hermitages of the seers. The passage underscores how adharma expresses itself not only through violence but through the usurpation and desecration of sanctified spaces meant for worship, austerity, and the protection of cosmic order.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Adharma is shown as the violation of what is sacred: when hostile powers seize divine abodes and sages’ hermitages, they disrupt worship, austerity, and the moral-spiritual foundations that sustain order. Protecting sanctified institutions and spaces is therefore part of upholding dharma.
Bhishma describes a period of Asuric ascendancy in which the Asuras overpower the gods and extend their domination to holy domains—taking the gods’ abodes and ancient vimānas and even occupying the hermitages of the ṛṣis—signaling a widespread collapse of rightful order.