Shloka 7
Sarasvatī-Śāpavimokṣa, Rākṣasa-Mokṣa, and Aruṇā-Tīrtha
Indra–Namuci Expiation
तत्र तीर्थे सुरा: स्कन्दम भ्यषिज्चन्नराधिप । सैनापत्येन महता सुरारिविनिबर्हणम्,नरेश्वर! उसी तीर्थमें देवताओंने देवशत्रुओंका विनाश करनेवाले स्कन्दको महान् सेनापतिके पदपर अभिषिक्त किया था
tatra tīrthe surāḥ skandam abhyasiñcann arādhipa | saināpatyena mahatā surārivinibarhaṇam ||
Vaiśampāyana said: “At that sacred ford, O king, the gods consecrated Skanda—crusher of the enemies of the devas—by installing him in the great office of commander-in-chief. Thus that tīrtha is remembered as a place where divine authority was ritually affirmed for the protection of cosmic order.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Legitimate authority—especially military leadership—should be grounded in dharma and publicly affirmed through sanctioned rites. The verse frames warfare as justified only when oriented toward protecting cosmic and social order, not personal ambition.
Vaiśampāyana describes a particular tīrtha where the gods performed an abhiṣeka (consecration) of Skanda, installing him as the great senāpati, famed for destroying the devas’ enemies. The passage elevates the tīrtha’s sanctity by linking it to this divine appointment.