Shloka 57

Devanagari script

एतां पुरा विष्णुरिव हत्वा दैतेयदानवान्‌

Transliteration

etāṃ purā viṣṇur iva hatvā daiteya-dānavān

Translation

Sañjaya said: “Formerly, like Viṣṇu, having slain the Daityas and Dānavas, he accomplished this feat.”

Word by Word

• एताम्: this (her/this one)
• एताम्: Karma
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: एतद्
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

• पुरा: formerly, once
• पुरा: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: पुरा

• विष्णुः: Viṣṇu
• विष्णुः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: विष्णु
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• इव: like, as if
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इव

• हत्वा: having slain
• Type: Verb
• Root: हन्
• Form: क्त्वा (absolutive/gerund), Parasmaipada (usage)

• दैतेयदानवान्: the Daityas and Dānavas (demons)
• दैतेयदानवान्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: दैतेय-दानव
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Viṣṇu
• Daiteyas
• Dānavas

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse uses Viṣṇu’s mythic role—destroying Daiteyas and Dānavas—to present an ethical model: force is justified when it protects cosmic and social order (dharma) by restraining destructive, oppressive powers.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya, narrating the battlefield events, likens a warrior’s deed to Viṣṇu’s ancient demon-slaying, heightening the sense of extraordinary valor and portraying the action as comparable to a divinely patterned victory over hostile forces.