Shloka 173
नलिन्या बिसमध्यस्थ उवासाब्दगणान् बहून् उस ब्रह्महत्याने देवेन्द्रको पकड़ लिया और वह तुरंत ही उनके शरीरसे सट गयी। वह ब्रह्म हत्याजनित भय उपस्थित होनेपर इन्द्र उससे पिण्ड छुड़ानेके लिये भागे और कमलकी नालके भीतर घुसकर उसीमें बहुत वर्षोतक छिपे रहे
nalinyā bisamadhyastha uvāsa abdagaṇān bahūn | atha brahmahatyā devendram apakarṣya jagrāha sā ca tatkṣaṇāt tasya śarīre saṭṭābhavat | brahmahatyājanita-bhaye samupasthite indraḥ tasmāt piṇḍaṃ mocayituṃ palāyitvā kamalanālasya madhye praviśya tatraiva bahūn varṣagaṇān nyavasat ||
Bhishma said: Indra dwelt for many years hidden within the hollow of a lotus-stalk. For when the sin of brahmahatyā seized Devendra, it instantly clung to his very body. Struck by the fear born of that grievous transgression, Indra fled in order to shake it off, entered the lotus-stalk, and remained concealed there for a long span of years.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even the highest authority is not beyond moral consequence: grave wrongdoing (brahmahatyā) brings immediate fear and social-spiritual pollution, and mere flight or concealment cannot truly resolve guilt—implying the need for rightful expiation and restoration of dharma.
Brahmahatyā, treated as a force that can physically cling to a person, seizes Indra. Terrified, Indra runs away and hides inside the hollow of a lotus-stalk, remaining concealed there for many years to escape the affliction.