Shloka 2
The Thirteen Inner Adversaries (Trayodaśa Doṣāḥ): Origins and Pacification
नारद उवाच हिमवत्पृष्ठज: कश्चिच्छाल्मलि: परिवारवान् । बृहन्मूलो बृहच्छाय: स त्वां वायोडवमन्यते,नारदजीने कहा--वायुदेव! हिमालयके पृष्ठभागपर एक सेमलका वृक्ष है, जो बहुत बड़े परिवारके साथ है। उसकी छाया विशाल और घनी है और जड़ें बहुत दूरतक फैली हैं। वह तुम्हारा अपमान करता है
nārada uvāca himavatpṛṣṭhajaḥ kaścit chālmaliḥ parivāravān | bṛhanmūlo bṛhacchāyaḥ sa tvāṁ vāyodavamanyate ||
Narada said: “On the back-slope of the Himalaya there stands a certain śālmali, a silk-cotton tree, surrounded by a great retinue. Its roots spread far and wide, and its shade is vast and dense. That tree, O Wind-god, holds you in contempt and insults you.”
नारद उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse sets up an ethical lesson about arrogance born of size, status, or support: even one who seems powerful (with vast roots, shade, and a ‘retinue’) can fall into contempt for others, and such disrespect invites correction and humility.
Narada addresses Vāyu and points out a particular śālmali tree on the Himalayan slope—grand, well-supported, and expansive—which is said to be insulting the Wind-god. This functions as the provocation that leads into the ensuing episode and its moral resolution.