Shloka 336
कुमाराभिषेकप्रश्नः — Inquiry into Kumāra (Skanda) Investiture at Sarasvatī
यथा बिभेद समयं नमुचेर्वासव: पुरा । वैशम्पायनजीने कहा--जनेश्वर! पूर्वकालमें इन्द्रने नमुचिके साथ अपनी की हुई प्रतिज्ञाको जिस प्रकार तोड़ डाला था, वह सारी कथा जैसे घटित हुई थी, तुम यथार्थरूपसे सुनो
yathā bibheda samayaṃ namucer vāsavaḥ purā |
Vaiśampāyana said: “Hear, O lord of men, exactly as it happened: how in former times Vāsava (Indra) broke the pledge he had made to Namuci—how that agreement was violated and what followed from it.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames a moral problem: even powerful rulers may be tempted to evade or reinterpret a vow. By introducing Indra’s breach of a samaya (compact), the narrative invites reflection on the ethical weight of promises and the consequences of compromising truth for expediency.
Vaiśampāyana signals a forthcoming episode: he will recount an ancient incident in which Indra (Vāsava) had made a pact with the Asura Namuci and later broke it. This serves as a precedent-story (exemplum) to illuminate the present events in the Shalya Parva.