Shloka 27
सुवर्णष्ठीविनोपाख्यानम्
The Account of Suvarṇaṣṭhīvin
चोदयामास तद् वस्ं दिव्यास्त्रं मूर्तिमत् स्थितम् व्याप्रो भूत्वा जहीम॑ त्वं राजपुत्रमिति प्रभो
codayāmāsa tad vāsam divyāstram mūrtimat sthitam vyāghro bhūtvā jahīmaṁ tvaṁ rājaputram iti prabho
Then Indra urged his embodied divine weapon, the Vajra, standing before him: “O Vajra, become a tiger and slay this prince.” He gave his motive as fear of the future—when grown, this son of Sṛñjaya, by his prowess, would one day defeat him.
पर्वत उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights an ethical failure: fear and rivalry can drive one to weaponize divine power for adharma—attempting to kill an innocent heir to prevent a predicted future defeat. It implicitly warns that foresight used for self-preservation at the cost of innocence corrupts both intent and action.
Parvata addresses a personified divine weapon (understood in the Gita Press gloss as Indra’s Vajra) and commands it to transform into a tiger and kill a prince, because Parvata believes that when the boy grows up—being Sṛñjaya’s son—he will overcome Parvata by his valor.