Shloka 63
Droṇa-parva Adhyāya 96: Sātyaki’s Line-Penetration, Encirclement, and Advance toward Arjuna
बधानानेन मन्त्रेण मानसेन सुरेश्वर । वधायासुरमुख्यस्य वृत्रस्य सुरघातिन:,सुरेश्वर! मेरे बताये हुए इस मन्त्रका मानसिक जप करके असुरमुख्य देवशत्रु वृत्रका वध करनेके लिये इसे अपने शरीरमें बाँध लो
badhānānena mantreṇa mānasena sureśvara | vadhāyāsuramukhyasya vṛtrasya suraghātinaḥ ||
Śarva said: “O Lord of the gods, bind this protective formula upon yourself by repeating it within the mind. Do so for the slaying of Vṛtra—the foremost among the Asuras, the enemy of the gods, the killer of the gods.”
शर्व उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse emphasizes disciplined inner practice: a mantra’s power is to be internalized through mental repetition and ‘bound’ as protective resolve, aligning spiritual means with a righteous objective—removing a destructive threat (Vṛtra) to restore order.
Śarva addresses Indra (Sureśvara), instructing him to mentally recite a specific mantra and bind it upon himself as a protective empowerment, specifically to enable the killing of Vṛtra, the leading Asura who harms the gods.