Shloka 3636
Karṇa’s advance against the Pāṇḍava host; Arjuna’s clash with the Saṃśaptakas (कर्णस्य पाण्डवसेनाप्रवेशः—अर्जुनस्य संशप्तकसंप्रहारः)
पुराण्यायोधयांचक्रे वज़पातै: समन्तत: । जब सम्पूर्ण लोकोंके प्राणी पीड़ित होने लगे, तब देवताओंसहित इन्द्र चारों ओरसे वज्रपात करते हुए उन तीनों पुरोंके साथ युद्ध करने लगे
purāṇy āyodhayāṃ cakre vajrapātaiḥ samantataḥ |
Duryodhana said: “When the beings of the whole world were being tormented, Indra, accompanied by the gods, began to wage war on those ancient strongholds, striking on every side with thunderbolts, the vajra.”
दुर्योधन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage frames force as ethically justified only when it serves the protection of living beings and the restoration of order: divine power (Indra’s vajra) is depicted not as arbitrary violence but as a response to widespread suffering, implying that authority—human or divine—must be accountable to the welfare of the world.
Duryodhana narrates a mythic episode in which Indra, together with the gods, attacks ancient strongholds, striking them from all directions with thunderbolts. The context given is that the creatures of the world were being afflicted, prompting Indra’s intervention and the ensuing battle.