Shloka 3
Marutta’s Sacrifice and Agni’s Embassy (मरुत्त-यज्ञे दूतत्वम्)
इन्द्र बवाच कुतो दुःखं मानसं देहजं वा पाण्ड्विंवर्णश्व॒ कुतस्त्वमद्य । आचक्ष्व मे ब्राह्मण यावदेतान् निहन्मि सर्वास्तव दुःखकर्तुन्,इन्द्रने कहा--विप्रवर! आपको यह मानसिक अथवा शरीरिक दु:ख कैसे प्राप्त हुआ? आप आज उदास और पीले क्यों हो रहे हैं? आप बताइये तो सही, जिन्होंने आपको दुःख दिया है, उन सबको मैं अभी नष्ट किये देता हूँ
indra uvāca—kuto duḥkhaṁ mānasaṁ dehajaṁ vā pāṇḍu-varṇaś ca kutas tvam adya? ācakṣva me brāhmaṇa yāvad etān nihannmi sarvān tava duḥkha-kartṝn.
Indra said: “From where has this sorrow come to you—of the mind or of the body? And why have you today become pale and downcast? Tell me at once, O brāhmaṇa; as soon as you name them, I shall strike down all those who have caused you grief.”
संवर्त उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights compassionate concern for another’s suffering and the impulse to protect the afflicted; ethically, it also raises the question of whether force should be used immediately or only after understanding the true cause of distress.
Indra addresses a brāhmaṇa who appears pale and sorrowful, asking whether the pain is mental or physical and urging him to identify the cause, promising to destroy those responsible for his grief.