Shloka 30
Vṛtra’s Cosmic Threat, Viṣṇu’s Upāya, and the Conditional Vulnerability
Udyoga-parva 10
वध्यो भवेयं विप्रेन्द्रा: शक्रस्य सह दैवतै: । एवं मे रोचते सन्धि: शक्रेण सह नित्यदा
vadhyo bhaveyaṁ viprendrāḥ śakrasya saha daivataiḥ | evaṁ me rocate sandhiḥ śakreṇa saha nityadā ||
Śalya said: “O foremost of brahmins, let me be liable to be slain by Indra together with the gods—yet only on these terms: that I not be killed by anything dry or wet, not by stone or wood, not by weapon or missile, and neither by day nor by night. If such be the condition, then I approve of a perpetual pact with Indra.”
शल्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how alliances and protections can be framed through carefully worded conditions; ethically, it warns that seeking invulnerability through loopholes may still leave one exposed to unforeseen forms of harm, underscoring the limits of control in the face of destiny and moral consequence.
Śalya addresses a brahmin and expresses willingness to enter a lasting pact with Indra, but only if his death is constrained by specific exclusions (not by dry/wet things, stone/wood, weapons/missiles, and not by day/night), reflecting a negotiated “boon-like” condition attached to a treaty.